The start of the Paris Olympics 2024 is only a few days away and the badminton duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will be one of the country's brightest prospects for a medal at the world event.
The World Championship bronze medalists and reigning Asian Games champion duo were handed a relatively favourable draw in Group C for the men’s doubles badminton competition at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
In this article, The Sporting News looks at the Indian badminton duo's career, their achievements and more importantly, their form ahead of the Paris Olympics 2024.
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Who are Satwik-Chirag?
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the Indian duo are currently ranked Number 3 in the world's badminton doubles rankings. They are also the first Indian doubles' duo to achieve world number 1 in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings.
Satwik was born on August 13, 2000, in Amalpuram, Andhra Pradesh, and was introduced to the sport by his father, who was himself a state level badminton player. At the age of 13, in 2014, he joined Pullela Gopichand's "Gopichand Badminton Academy", where he became a doubles specialist. He stands with a height of 6ft or 1.84m tall.
He also holds a Guiness World Record for the fastest smash by a male badminton player, with his hit reaching a speed of 565 km/h.
Chirag on the other hand, born on July 4, 1997, in Malad, Mumbai, is the senior between the duo. He started training in Uday Pawar Badminton Academy, at the Goregaon Sports Club, but later shifted to Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad. He stands with a height of 6ft 2in or 1.87m tall.
Chirag was paired with Satwik by then coach Tan Kim Her, a former Malaysian World Cup doubles' bronze medalist, who felt that two tall and strong guys with good skills could combine to become a formidable pair.
How Satwik-Chirag became a force to reckon with in badminton
After being paired as a badminton doubles duo at the Gopichand Badminton academy, they started their doubles' career together in 2018.
At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, the duo were involved in India's mixed team, which earned an historic gold medal at the event. The team also included the likes of Kidambi Srikanth, Saina Nehwal and Ashwini Ponnappa. Furthermore, the duo clinched a silver medal at the same competition, in the men's doubles category.
In the same year, they won their first BWF World Title at the Hyderabad Open.
Next year, in 2019, the duo became the first Indian doubles pair to win a BWF Superseries, when they won the Thailand Open, beating the Chinese.
The year following the pandemic, in 2021, was probably one of the duo's worst periods in their career so far, as they not only crashed out in the 2020 Thailand Open, but also were eliminated in the group stages of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Late that year, they qualified for the 'BWF World Tour Finals' tournament but had to withdraw from the competition after a loss in their first group stage match.
In 2022, the duo played a crucial role as a part of a team that won the Thomas Cup, which was India's first title in the competition's history. They then went to win a gold at the Commonwealth games in Birmingham, and a bronze medal at the BWF World Championships, which was also India's first medal in that competition's history.
They continued their strong run by winning their first ever BWF World Super-750 title in the French Open.
In 2023, the pair went on to win the Swiss Open, World Super 1000 title, the Korean Open and were also crowned the Asian Champions, by clinching gold at the Asian badminton Championships.
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Satwik-Chirag - Form ahead of Paris 2024 Olympics
The Indian badminton doubles' pair of Satwik and Chirag have been in great form ahead of the Olympic Games 2024, have reached three finals this year, where they finished runners up at the Malaysia Open and India Open, but finally, ended up as the champions at the French Open, on June 9.
The duo hoped to take learnings from their disappointing performance at the last edition of the Olympics, with both experience and form on their side.
"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."
List of major achievements of Indian badminton doubles' pair Satwik-Chirag
Here is a list of medals won by Indian badminton doubles' pair, Satwik and Chirag, in major competitions, in their career so far:
| Year | Competition | Medal |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Commonwealth Games Mixed team (Australia) | Gold |
| 2018 | Commonwealth Games Men's doubles (Australia) | Silver |
| 2022 | World Championships Men's doubles (Tokyo, Japan) | Bronze |
| 2022 | Thomas Cup India Men's team (Bangkok) | Gold |
| 2022 | Commonwealth Games Men's doubles (Birmingham) | Gold |
| 2022 | Commonwealth Games mixed team (Birmingham) | Silver |
| 2023 | Asian Games Men's team (Hangzhou, China) | Silver |
| 2023 | Asian Games Men's doubles (Hangzhou, China) | Gold |
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