File image of Satwiksairaj Rankiredddy and Chirag Shetty.© BAI
Defending Asian and Commonwealth Games champions in men’s doubles, the former World No.1 pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will start their Paris Olympics campaign against the French duo of Lucas Corvee and Ronan Labar later in the day. The Indian long-jumper Murali Sreeshankar feels that the duo has the best chance of returning home with a medal. Rankireddy and Shetty are India’s top medal prospects in badminton along with two-time Olympic medallist P.V Sindhu. Sindhu is hoping to become the first Indian sportsperson to win medals in three successive Olympic Games editions.
Sreeshankar said the Asian Games gold medal has boosted the morale of the Indian pair and hopes they will replicate that feat in the Olympics too.
“We hope they can replicate the performances they have delivered over the last couple of years. Satwik and Chirag won a gold medal in men’s doubles at the Asian Games which is much tougher than doing so at the Olympics because, at the Asian Games, you compete against two Chinese teams, whereas, in the Olympics, only the top-16 in world ranking can participate,” Sreeshankar, Olympics Expert for JioCinema & Sports18, said.
“They should have won a medal in Tokyo 2020, they even defeated the eventual champions of that year but unfortunately, they couldn’t progress through the group stages. However, their performances in the Thomas Cup and Asian Championships have been consistently excellent. We just need to hope that they continue to perform at that level, and I am confident that the Sat-Chi brothers will bring a medal home,” he added.
Former World No.1 shooter Heena Sidhu, who is also an Olympics Expert on JioCinema & Sports18, said the duo needs to carry forward their rhythm in the sporting pinnacle to win a medal and make the country proud.
“We don’t need anything special from them; they just need to continue doing what they have been doing and concentrate on the process. Their track record is so good that if they just focus on the process, I’m sure they will be able to win a medal and be proud of themselves,” Sidhu said.
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