“Tera, tera”, “chal, chal”, “aage, aage”. Those familiar with Indian badminton know that these words of exhortation echo inside a badminton stadium when the top doubles pair Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy are in action.
India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (L) and Chirag Shetty (R) play during their quarter final mens doubles match against Denmark’s against Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (not pictured) at the BWF Badminton World Championsship(AFP) {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
While Shetty the senior partner is the tactician, Rankireddy is the force behind the team. The two combine sharp and touch play at the net along with sheer power from the back, which has led them to becoming one of the most destructive pairs on the international circuit.
On any given day, in any tournament, at any venue, Rankireddy and Shetty are among the favourites. Significantly, the competition in elite men’s doubles is extremely intense among the world’s top 10 pairs, nine of whom are Asians and will be playing in Hangzhou.
Rankireddy and Shetty, world No.3, stand a strong chance of winning gold, not just in men’s doubles but also in men’s team.
Ever since their breakthrough win at the 2019 Thailand Open, Shetty and Rankireddy have been challenging the best in the business, winning titles and reaching the semi-finals and quarter-finals of top tournaments regularly. But the pair really came into its own last year under Danish coach Mathias Boe.
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
Boe transformed the pair into a winning machine, starting with the epic Thomas Cup win in Bangkok. It was due to the sheer presence of Rankireddy and Shetty that India were able to win the prestigious team championship for the first time.
“In earlier editions of the Thomas Cup the thinking would be that you need three singles (players) to win. The pressure on your singles players to win was too much and if you, by chance, lose one of them then all of it was lost,” chief national coach Pullela Gopichand had told HT in an earlier interview. “But here you are actually looking at a pair which is strong enough to challenge the best. So, (now) your singles are strong and your doubles is also strong… that makes it really tough (for others).”
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
The pair also went on to win the India Open and French Open last year, following it up with a first Commonwealth Games gold and bronze at the World Championships – a first for Indian men’s doubles in the last two categories.
This year, Shetty and Rankireddy have been on fire. They started off by winning the Swiss Open in March and then claimed one of the biggest titles of their career when they won gold at the Asian Championships in April. This was the first time in 58 years – since Dinesh Khanna (men’s singles) in 1965 – that India had claimed gold in one of the world’s toughest tournaments.
They achieved another first in June when they became the first Indians to win a Super 1000 tournament – the topmost level on the BWF World Tour – to complete the set of all BWF World Tour level events. The title became even more special considering that they beat Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, the 2022 world champions whom they had never beaten in eight previous meetings.
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
The pair also won the Korea Open in July for the fourth title of the year, which also elevated them to a career high world No.2.
“The boys are well aware what is at stake for the next one year. We are going to keep pushing and practicing hard. They are hungry and really determined to do well. Now they understand the importance of the need to keep pushing, being hungry and working hard each and every day,” says Boe, who won an Olympic silver and two World Championship medals partnering Carsten Mogensen.
“Most of our opponents know it is not fun to play us if we have a good day. Winning all titles is unrealistic but at least if we win titles every once in a while and are in the race for bigger championships, that is most important.”
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
Competition at Asian Games will be pretty similar to the Asian Championships. Despite the intense competition, Rankireddy and Shetty excelled in Dubai. Can they do that again at Hangzhou?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
2023-09-16 20:25:57
#Waiting #Indian #tango #Hangzhou
