Badminton News: Indian badminton player Chirag Shetty, who won the men’s doubles title at the Indonesia Open with partner Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, says winning his inaugural tournament at the Federation’s World Tour Super 1000 event Badminton World Championship (BWF) was pretty special and the two were sure they could do it.
In an interview with ANI, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj spoke about their victory at the Indonesia Open, ranking third in the men’s doubles rankings, of this year’s Asian Games and being considered medal hopefuls for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
“Winning a Super 1000 event was pretty special for both of us. We always knew we had it to do it. It was only a matter of time before we could achieve that. The way we played all the week was amazing,” Chirag told ANI.
He said the feeling of winning the Indonesia Open finally kicked in.
“Now when I look back, it was a memorable tournament for us. We beat the world number one in the quarter-finals and beat the world champion, who we had never beaten before in the final,” he said. -he adds.
Indian men’s doubles badminton duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty beat Malaysian second seeds Aaron Chia and Wooi Yik Soh 21-17, 21-18 to win India’s first BWF Super 1000 World Tour title in the final of the Indian Open disputed in Jakarta on Sunday.
But before meeting in this final, the Malaysian duo had beaten ‘Sat-Chi’, as the famous Indian duo were called during their eight meetings.
Speaking about their feelings as a duo against a tough opponent in the final, Chirag Shetty said he and Satwiksairaj decided to stick to their game plan and added that they held back during their eight last meetings.
“We knew we had to stick to our game plan. In our previous eight meetings we had held back. We were a bit hesitant to stick to our game plan. Some good feedback from them and we have usually been a bit reactive rather than dictating terms, this time around when we accept blame we are unaffected by it and tell ourselves it’s alright we shouldn’t be complacent and should be the ones dictating the terms, be more proactive,” Chirag said.
At the moment of triumph, Chirag says he really can’t believe it.
“When the shuttlecock hit the net, luckily for us it didn’t reach us. I just fell on the pitch and couldn’t believe it, pulled my blindfold in disbelief. I couldn’t believing it for a few seconds. Then Satwik lifted me up. We were both excited and happy with our victory. Beating them in the final, in our first Super 1000 final, couldn’t have gone better.”
Article Tags: Chirag Shetty, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Indonesia Open 2023
