Badminton News: “We are like ice and fire. Satwik is ice and I am fire,” said Chirag Shetty of famous Indian badminton duo Chirag and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, who had a sensational 2022.
In that year, they won the India Open Super 500 series title, helped fashion country to historic Thomas Cup triumph, won men’s doubles gold at the CWG in Birmingham before becoming the first Indian men’s doubles combination to win a bronze medal at the World Championships.
Chirag, who represented Maharashtra in the mixed team event here at the Gujarat National Games, said the pair were aiming to finish in the top 5 in the world rankings. Indonesia is currently ranked eighth.
“Our next goal is to be in the top five in the world rankings. It’s tough. We have to play well regularly and play in many tournaments. Our goal is also to be injury-free,” Chirag said.
Even though Maharashtra lost 2-3 to eventual champions Telangana, Chirag and partner Ritika Thaker secured a hard-fought victory over P Vishnuvardhan Goud and Gayatri Gopichand in the mixed doubles match.
Speaking about the bond the two have on the international stage, Mumbaikar said, “Satwik is the ice and I am the fire. You have to be a calming partner and Satwik has played that role wonderfully. He is never angry and never show anger, even when I made a mistake. It’s a good partnership. He’s a smiling killer. Usually after a big win, he dances on the field. He’s passionate in a tight game, but he does it his way.
Chirag is also happy that the number of doubles is starting to attract attention in the country.
“Now people follow our game. There is a lot of hope now. However, you can’t win every game. That’s how we are recognized. In the past, singles players were center of attention, but now that Satwik and I have won the match, doubles are starting to get attention in this country.”
Chirag said the biggest change Indian badminton had witnessed over the years was that the players had become more “fearless and aggressive”.
“That aggressiveness was a bit lost in the past, especially in team games. The first time I played in the Thomas Cup, we finished fourth in the group stage in 2016. But now it’s different. There was a lot of good nature and team spirit. It’s very important as a team. There are many different attitudes of wisdom. We play more fearless badminton because each of us is very aggressive.”
Telangana crowned badminton champion
B Sai Praneeth of Telangana defeated HS Prannoy 18-21, 21-16, 22-20 of Kerala to help his country win gold in mixed team badminton at the national championships.
Praneeth’s victory followed another scintillating performance from husband-wife pair Sumeeth Reddy and Sikki Reddy who beat MR Arjun and Treesa Jolly 21-15 14-21 21-14 in this mixed doubles thriller. Samiya Farooqui then beat TR Gowrikrishna 21-5 21-12 to give Telangana something to cheer about.
Article tags: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, India
Published by Ligaolahraga.com at https://www.ligaolahraga.com/badminton/satwikchirag-targetkan-tembus-peringkat-5-big-dunia
