Chirag and Satwik's next target is the Commonwealth Games
After leaving a lasting impact in this year's Thomas Cup, where the Indian men's team registered a historic win, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy are now focusing on winning medals in big-ticket international competitions
Their next target is the Commonwealth Games slated to take place in Birmingham next month, which would provide a motivating start to the next phase of their journey. They had become runners-up in the previous CWG edition at Gold Coast in Australia. After that, they want to win the World Championships, as stated by Chirag at the launch event of the Grand Prix Badminton League.
Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy want to bring home an Olympic medal and secure a place in the top five
The duo, currently ranked eighth in the world, has the 2024 Paris Olympics to look forward to. They are optimistic about their chances of winning a medal in Paris, which is their long-term goal. They want to enter the top five in the world rankings, which is not unachievable. If they succeed in repeatedly thrashing the top pairs in the world, they can climb up the rankings. Chirag and Satwiksairaj could reap a massive advantage under the guidance of former world number one Mathias Boe. The Olympic medallist in men's doubles is currently their doubles coach. The pair know how their Thomas Cup win has enhanced their profiles.
People recognise them in public places and have started to follow badminton closely after the Thomas Cup. Satwiksairaj said that they even entered the prime minister's abode. In contrast to the time when Pullela Gopichand and Prakash Padukone played both the singles and doubles events, this is a massive turnaround where so many players are now seen in Indian badminton. Singles icon Kidambi Srikanth remarked that his current charge is the best he has been a part of over his nine-ten-year career. Although they have had decent players, the Satwik-Chirag pair makes all the difference.
India's golden pair was highly consistent in their Thomas Cup matches.
Their consistency throughout the tournament blew their minds, especially in the quarters, semis, and finals performances. Satwik and Chirag performed impeccably in those crucial matches after trailing by 0-1. Lakshya Sen had lost his quarter-final and semi-final matches, but his loss was compensated for by Satwik and Chirag, who won all of their games. Kidambi revealed that there is immense pressure mounting on the players, mainly because it was a knockout match, and the team was down 0-1. The way India's current badminton golden pair played was exceptional. Indonesian doubles players are usually tricky to outclass, so to beat Indonesia in a final was a fantastic achievement for the Indians.
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