Satwik and Chirag: India’s dynamic duo

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The badminton duo of SatwiksairajRankireddy and Chirag Shetty have had a dream year. Known for complementing each other, the level-headed Satwik has also compared his partnership with Chirag, who has a more aggressive style of play, to that of Federer and Nadal.

Currently ranked World No. 5, the doubles players faced a roller-coaster season, where they started off motivated after the disappointments of 2021, where they defeated the eventual Olympic champions but lost out due to technical issues and missed out on the Worlds in December and January. However, the pair came back stronger in 2022, to claim medals at the India Open, Thomas Cup, the World Championship, and the French Open.

A key source of support for the duo has been the training under former World No. 1 Mathias Boe. After his initial contract ended, GoSports Foundation played a crucial role in securing his services ahead of the Asia Badminton Championship and the Thomas Cup.

Boewas instrumental in tempering the pair’s game, especially that of Chirag, who learnt to respond to provocations with his racquet. This helped the two badminton players to deliver impressive performances at the Thomas Cup, where India emerged victorious, and the Commonwealth Games, where they clinched the gold, and the World Championship, where they won bronze. Under Boe, the ability towithstand pressure has become so ingrained in the duo that they were able to produce a scintillating performance at the French Open final against the Chinese Taipei duo of Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han.

Satwikand Chirag are currently gearing up for a packed 2023, where the two players hope to perform with controlled aggression and defence, both. Their plan for the upcoming year is to select events with the Olympics in mind, and not overcommit, and the pairs that they currently wish to beat are the Malaysian pair of Aaron Chia and Soh WooiYik, and the Indonesian duo of Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo. Satwik and Chirag have also picked up the ESPN India’s Male athletes of the year award.