Earlier they hesitated to partner, today they are the top pair in the country

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty hesitated when men’s doubles Malaysian coach, Kim Tan Her, told them that they are going to be eachother’s partner. And today, they are the most successful men’s doubles pair at an early stage.

It started with the poor plays when they lacked the co-ordination and both used to play at the back alley of the court; they never took to the net in returning the bird. However, coach Kim intervened and explained the importance of the doubles combination and the understandings on the court.

Though it took awhile for the duo to improve their calibre, they started producing impressive results all of a sudden and the recent upset they created was at the Indonesia Masters in late January, who being the fourth seeded at the tournament defeated the world no. 10 duo  Mads Conrad-Petersen & Mad Pieler Kolding of Denmark in the quarterfinals, followed by reaching the Pre-quarterfinals at the India Open.

The duo is now the top paired team surpassing Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy, and they credit their coach, Tan, for their rise in the last 12 months.

“We have good understanding now unlike we had in the initial days, where we struggled. All the credit goes to the coach. What we need now is the experience, which can be achieved by playing in a few more tourneys,” said Satwik, according to The Hindu.

Chirag Shetty agreed Satwik and expressed the same, “Our coach Tan said that being in the partnership is like being in a marriage. We now spend more time together off court as well. That helped us understand each other and that reflects on the court. Both of us were back-court players initially and we were not going at the net. Tan told that Satwik is good at the back with his attacking game. Now, I mostly play at the net and leave the room for Satwik in the backcourt. That is working well for us,” he added.

The young lads will be seen as the debutants at the upcoming prestigious All England Open badminton championship. “It is a prestigious tournament and this is our first time. I am very confident and ready to give our best,” said Satwik, who will be not playing in the mixed doubles event against Ashwini Ponnappa either in All England or in Commonwealth Games due to the low ranking.

“The specialized doubles coach has brought the X-factor to the training and playing with Ashwini Ponnappa is a very good learning experience,” added Satwik.

The player from Amalapuram, credits Premiere Badminton League, as well, which has been the revelation of his talent in the previous season. “Playing in PBL has helped my game in Indonesia. It taught me how to play in crunch situations. Playing alongside Marin in practice and her coach Rivas made me confident.”

The duo is very confident a to stand on the podium at the CWG, but now, the complete focus is on the All England. “Started from the scratch in 2016 to reaching the world no. 25 spot, and we would go much further. Reaching the top 20 by the end of the year, and the top 10 by the end of next year is our goal,” said Chirag.