Star Indian shuttlers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have been seeded third.© BAI

File image of Prakash Padukone.© X (Twitter)

Chirag Shetty has lashed out at the government for not treating all sports equally.© AFP

Star Indian men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty has “cracked” the service variation challenge and is focussing on “comprehensive physical and mental conditioning” to ensure peak performance at the upcoming Paris Olympics. Satwik, 23, and Chirag, 26, have been troubled by the wide variations of tumble, spin and wide serves that their opponents, mainly the Koreans and Indonesians, have employed against them during the recent tournaments. Chirag said they have addressed the “new challenge” and remains confident of negotiating it during the Paris Games.

“Regarding serve variations, they are a new challenge, but placing complete importance on that wouldn’t be right,” Chirag told PTI in an email interview.

“There was a time when we struggled with receiving them, but we eventually cracked it. We know what to do, we’ve been practicing, and we’re confident we’ll come out strong at the Olympics to counter that.” The current world number 3 pair had narrowly missed out of a quarterfinal berth in the last Olympics when despite winning two of their three group matches, the duo couldn’t qualify for the knockout stage as it was settled on the basis of the number of games won and lost.

“The experience of playing in the Tokyo Olympics has been invaluable in our preparation for the Paris Games. Competing at such a high level has taught us crucial lessons about handling pressure, staying focused, and adapting to different playing conditions,” Satwik said.

Chirag added: “The intensity and atmosphere of the Olympics are unparalleled, and having been through it once, we now have a better understanding of what to expect and the initial jitters of being at the Olympics for the first time are also not going to be there.

“Additionally, winning the French Open has naturally given us a significant confidence boost.” In the last couple of years, the duo worked its way to become the world number one after a series of sensational performance, including winning the Commonwealth Games gold medal, a bronze at the World Championships in 2022, and gold in the Hangzhou Asian Games.

They also played a crucial role in India’s epic Thomas Cup win in 2022. Satwik and Chirag have won the French Open and Thailand Open this year after reaching the finals at the Malaysian Super 750 and India Super 750.

“As the Olympics draw closer, our approach is becoming more focussed and strategic. We’re fine-tuning every aspect of our game to ensure peak performance when we step onto the court in Paris,” Satwik said.

“This includes developing specific game plans for our potential opponents by studying their strengths and weaknesses in detail, concentrating on targeted drills, and enhancing our on-court positions and shot selections.

“We are taking a holistic approach to our preparations. We’re in a good rhythm and are eagerly looking forward to be back at the Olympics. Comprehensive physical and mental conditioning is at the heart of our preparation.” The duo has been troubled sometimes by the left-right combinations such as Korean Seo Seung-jae and Kang Min-hyuk and Danish Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen but Chirag feels they don’t have any problem against any particular pair.

“I can’t really pinpoint a specific pair that we find particularly tricky to play against. On any given day, if a pair plays well, they can pose a challenge. However, I believe that if we play at our best, we can beat anyone,” he said.

“So, there’s no specific pair or lefty-righty combination that particularly affects us. That said, all our competitors in the Olympics will be quite good…” On expectations and handling pressure at the big-ticket event, Satwik said: “We understand Olympics is the greatest, biggest tournament there is and naturally there are hopes and wishes from each Olympic-bound athlete.

“We don’t want to think so much about the pressures, we’re looking to go out there, enjoy the atmosphere, have a great time on court and take it one game at a time and see how it goes. We do not want to put ourselves under any pressure from the word go.

“We’re used to the expectations and pressures that come along in our game… we’re primarily looking to go out there and do great things on the court and have fun while doing that.” Chirag and Satwik are also mentors of PNB MetLife Junior Badminton Championship (JBC), which will begin on August 1 in the national capital.

“JBC offers a fantastic opportunity to nurture budding badminton talent in India. JBC also offers players access to mentoring, coaching, and training from veterans in the sport. Badminton has significantly shaped my life, and I want to share its benefits with the next generation, helping them achieve their dreams,” Chirag said.

Satwik said: “As JBC mentors, we offer guidance on videos to young athletes on drills, techniques, strategies to improve their game, tips on mental resilience, and managing competition stress. Chirag and I will also be offering tips to players in person, whenever we visit any city edition matches.”

There is nobody more qualified in Indian badminton than Leroy D’Sa to talk about doubles in badminton. The only Indian shuttler to win four medals at the Asian Games, D’Sa is one of the finest doubles players the country has ever produced, and his success came at a time when doubles was the ignored art. D’Sa had to regularly set up scratch partnerships with top male and female singles players like Prakash Padukone, Ami Ghia, and Kanwal Thakur Singh to win medals in Asian Games doubles and mixed doubles.

So when Leroy D’Sa picks a pair as a favourite to win a medal at the upcoming Paris Olympic Games, one has to sit down and take note of it.

D’Sa picked India’s former World No.1 men’s doubles pair Satwaksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty as India’s best bet to win a medal in the upcoming Olympic Games, placing the pair ahead of two-time Olympics medallist P.V Sindhu.

“Players have been playing right throughout the year and there are too much of expectations. But I personally feel the most important point was to qualify for the Olympics. From all the players who have qualified I believe we have a very good chance of coming back with a bigger haul than ever,” said D’Sa during a panel discussion on India’s chances at the Paris Olympics organised by the Sports Journalists Association of Mumbai (SJAM) on the occasion of World Sports Journalists Day on Tuesday.

Hockey Olympian and Olympic Gold Quest CEO Viren Rasqinha, Athletics Federation of India President Adille Sumariwalla, chief coach of Indian rifle shooting team Suma Shirur and former India Davis Cupper Purav Raja were the other participants in the panle discussion.

D’Sa said that this time the badminton contingent at Paris will be the largest-ever from India at the Olympics as so many players have qualified for the Games.

“Two boys in the singles category (Lakshya Sen, H.S Prannoy), Sidhu in the women’s singles, Chirag-Satwik in men’s doubles. In my opinion, Chirag/Satwik are the best prospects to come back with a medal. I would place Sindhu next because she is the one who has tasted blood and knows what it takes to win at the highest level. She is once again in good form and I am very sure with the guidance that she is receiving from Prakash Padukone, winning a medal I don’t think will be difficult,” said D’Sa.

Three medals if not four: D’Sa

D’Sa, who won three bronze medals in the 1982 Asian Games in men’s doubles, mixed doubles, and men’s team and a fourth bronze in the 1986 Games in Seoul in men’s team event, picked both Lakshya Sen and H.S Prannoy as dark horses.

“Lakshya Sen and H.S Prannoy both, to me, are the dark horses in the singles. Lakshya Sen once again has been playing extremely well. Unfortunately, HS Prannoy has been having some medical issues. He has not played very well. But I think now that is all over. If these players are able to be injury-free I am very sure that this time we will come back with at least three medals if not four,” said D’Sa.

D’Sa also has high hopes from the young women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, who he said have gained enough experience and caused many upsets on the BWF circuit.

File image of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.© AFP

India’s ace shuttler, PV Sindhu is set to spearhead the Indian contingent at the Singapore Badminton Open 2024 BWF Super 750 tournament in order to end her drought in Singapore following her brilliant run in Kuala Lumpur’s Malaysia Masters recently. India’s Chirag Shetty/Satwiksairaj Rankireddy will be the top billing in the men’s doubles competition and are on the lookout for their third title of the season after the French and Thailand Open. Reigning Olympic singles champions Viktor Axelsen and Chen Yufei will headline a world-class assortment of top global stars at the Singapore Badminton Open 2024 BWF Super 750 tournament.

On the road to defending his Olympic crown at the Paris 2024 Summer Games, Axelsen won the Malaysia Masters men’s singles title on Sunday, ousting Malaysian ace Lee Zii Jia in the final.

The world No. 1 Dane will look to build on the momentum at Singapore and is the top seed for the badminton tournament, which he has never won in the past. Axelsen will start his campaign against India’s Lakshya Sen, the reigning Commonwealth Games champion.

Tenth in the world badminton rankings, Lee will be eyeing a hat-trick of finals after making the title deciders in Thailand and Malaysia this month.

Two-time defending Singapore Open men’s singles champion Anthony Sinisuka Ginting will be the seventh seed for this year’s competition, while his Indonesian compatriot Jonatan Christie, the reigning All England champion, is seeded third.

The home challenge, meanwhile, will be faced by former world champion Loh Kean Yew, who is slated to face the People’s Republic of China’s Lu Guangzu in his opening match.

The Republic of Korea’s An Seyoung will be in Singapore to defend her women’s singles crown as the top seed. Reigning Olympic champion Chen and Rio 2016 gold medalist Carolina Marin are seeded second and third, respectively.

Tai Tzu-ying was seeded fourth, but the Chinese Taipei star has since withdrawn.

China’s Wang Zhiyi, who beat India’s two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu to clinch the Malaysia Masters title last week, will be the seventh seed.

Tokyo 2020 silver medal winners Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan of China are the No. 1 seeds in women’s doubles.

Paris 2024-bound Australian women’s doubles pair of Setyana Mapasa and Angela Yu will also be in action at the Singapore Open 2024.

Star Indian pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty received a major boost ahead of the Paris Olympics as they secured the men’s doubles title at the Thailand Open Super 500 badminton tournament with a straight-game win over Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi of China on Sunday. In the form of their lives, Satwik and Chirag, the world number three pair prevailed 21-15 21-15 over Liu and Chen, ranked 29th, for their ninth BWF world tour title. It was also the second title of the season for the Asian Games champions following their triumph at the French Open Super 750 in March. They had also finished runners-up at Malaysia Super 1000 and India Super 750.

“Bangkok has always been special for us, we won our first Super Series title back in 2019 here and also the Thomas cup, so it has been a special place and so happy to be here,” Chirag said after the win.

For Satwik and Chirag, the title comes at a major juncture of their career as they had some low returns in the last couple of tournaments.

The Indian pair lost in the second round at All England Championships and then missed the Asia Championships due to an injury to Satwik.

The Thomas Cup campaign was also not too fruitful as they lost a couple of narrow matches to top pairs.

Satwik and Chirag had come into the Thailand Open final without dropping a game and were favourites to claim the title, while Liu and Chen also produced some stunning wins in the run-up to the summit clash and had the reputation of never losing a final.

However, it was always going to be a tough task to tame the top-seeded Indians, who didn’t allow the Chinese to get into long rallies or sustain any pressure.

Satwik and Chirag made a superb start by quickly opening up a 5-1 lead. Chen and Liu clawed back with a four-point burst.

At 7-7, the Chinese pair won a 39-shot rally and surged ahead to 10-7 before spraying one long. Liu and Chen played a few intense rallies but Chirag unleashed a bullet return to draw level at 10-10 but Liu ensured they had a slender edge at the break.

Satwik and Chirag moved to 14-11 after resumption before Satwik sliced one to net. The Indians extended the lead to 16-12. Liu sent a lob over Satwik’s head to set up a point, while Chirag sprayed into net as the Chinese kept snapping at their heels.

However, the Indians soon grabbed five game points with Satwik sending one to the corner and then dishing out another superb service which the Chinese could only bury into the net.

The Indians made a solid 8-3 start after the change of sides and maintained the five-point cushion at the interval when the Chinese dumped one into the net.

Chen and Liu registered three straight points but Satwik broke the run of play with an aggressive return. At 15-11, Satwik received warning for delaying the game and with Chirag overhitting twice, Chen and Liu moved to 14-15.

But the Indians dashed any hopes of a mutiny with Chirag setting up a point with a fine placement and Satwik providing the finishing touch as they moved to 17-15. Liu then sprayed into net as the Indians again eked out a three-point gap.

Satwik then unleashed a barrage of smashes to grab five match points. The Chinese then sent Chirag’s smash into the net. As part of celebrations, Satwik broke into a dance with his racquet, while Chirag threw his shirt into the crowd. 

India’s premier men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty entered the final of the Thailand Open badminton tournament with an easy straight-game victory over Lu Ming-Che and Tang Kai-Wei of Chinese Taipei in Bangkok on Saturday. Asian Games gold medallist pair of Satwik and Chirag needed just 35 minutes to beat their world No. 80 opponents 21-11 21-12 in the semifinal match of the Super 500 tournament at the Nimibutr Stadium.

Satwik and Chirag have a deep relation with Thailand as it was here five years back in 2019 that they had won their maiden super 500 crown. On Saturday, the Indian pair inched closer to regaining the title after reaching the summit clash again.

The Indian pair thus continued to make waves in the BWF World Tour after progressing to their fourth final of the season. The duo had finished runner-up at Malaysia super 1000 and India super 750 before claiming the French super 750 in March.

In the final on Sunday, the world number three Indian duo, the top seeds in this tournament, will be up against the Chinese pair of Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi, who defeated Kim Gi Jung and Kim Sa Rang of South Korea 21-19 21-18 in the other semifinal on Saturday.

Satwik and Chirag had some low returns in the last couple of tournaments. The Indian pair lost in the second round at All England Championships and then missed the Asia Championships due to an injury to Satwik. The Thomas Cup campaign was also not too fruitful as they lost a couple of narrow matches to top pairs. The final appearance will thus provide a major boost ahead of the Paris Olympics.

On Saturday, Satwik and Chirag were not really tested by Lu and Tang, who played well only in patches but lacked the aggression and accuracy to trouble the Indians, who were a cut above their rivals.

In the opening game, Satwik and Chirag were up 3-0 but the Taiwanese pair managed to make it 5-4 before they started leaking points. Errors crept into their game as they went long a number of times, allowing the Indians to enter the break with an 11-7 lead.

Things didn’t change after resumption as the Indians continued to gather point with their sharp placements. At 17-10, Chirag produced a powerpacked smash as they gained nine game points when the Chinese went out twice.

The second game began on a close note as the two pairs moves 4-4 to 6-6. Satwik also produced an ambitious behind-the-back return only to spray it wide. Leading 9-7 for the first time in the match, Lu and Tang, however, couldn’t sustain the pressure as a fast and long rally ended at the nets for the Chinese.

With Lu and Tang continuing to find the going tough, it was 15-10 in favour of the Indians, who grabbed 8 match points when the Chinese made another soft error at the net.

Chirag then stood at the front court and sealed it with a barrage of fast returns.

In the women’s doubles, the fourth-seeded Indian pair of Tanisha Carsto and Ashwini Ponnappa will face top seeds Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai of Thailand in the semifinals later on Saturday.

File photo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (right) and Chirag Shetty© X (formerly Twitter)