We are not the Satwik-Chirag from Tokyo theres more maturity in us: Indian doubles pair opens up on their rise and rise
Chirag: I wont rate it as best, that has to be the Thomas Cup, and only Olympic gold can change that. But Id say its in our Top 3.
Satwik: Thomas Cup, first. Second is this one.
What was the pathway to finals like at the Asian Championship?
Chirag: First round was OK, just getting used to the conditions. We had a solid pre-quarters against the Koreans where we broke no sweat. I wasnt expecting the easy game against the Daddies. But we beat them at their game keeping the shuttle low, trying to open up the court. After first 2-3 strokes, we were catching them off-guard. Semis was a good match, but unfortunately opponents had to retire.
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Satwik-Chirag make history, first Indians to become Asian champs in 58 years
How did you wind up at a set and 13-7 down in the second in the final, and what changed thereafter?
Chirag: We were not at our best in the finals, but could turn it around at 13-7 by fighting back. We were not getting a streak of 3-4 good points till then. But at 13-11 we thought now its possible and we can come back into the match. We were confident after things became score-all. When we got couple of points on our serve, opponents began to panic.
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Satwik: Deep inside I had the belief that one streak here and there and humaara game hai (itll be our game). When we scored 1-2 points on our serve, we could see them begin to crumble under pressure. We said lets not make any mistakes. When we entered the court, I thought first game was ours but within a minute we were 18-13 down so we started real bad. But once we found rhythm, it was our match.
Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy pose after the medals felicitation ceremony at the Badminton Asian Championships. (BAI)
You have hardly lost any finals; what mindset do you go in with?
Chirag: We dont try to do anything crazy just because its the final, we stick to what we have been doing whole week. We dont think of it as a Final-Final. The crowd pumped us up a lot especially when we were down. But essentially in finals, we play to our strengths.
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Satwik: We keep it very simple, stay normal and do nothing extraordinary. We dont think of medal, just about going out there and enjoying ourselves. Everything was good crowd felt like it was India. The hotel was near to the stadium. Things clicked into place.
Your clutch-play has come a long way from when finishes used to be botched up. How did that come about?
Chirag: Weve come a long way in terms of mental strength, that comes from playing more and more important matches like in Thomas Cup. Earlier in crunch situations, if we made errors, we would lose next 2-3 points brooding over the mistake. Now we just laugh it off, and instead give away just 1 point, not 2 or 3.
Satwik: Ive been working with my mental coach, and feel a little better on how to handle pressure situations. Im not thinking about what will happen later.
Indias Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, right, and Chirag Shetty, return a shuttlecock to Chinas Xiang Yu Ren and Qiang Tan during their mens doubles final match of the Badminton Swiss Open at the St. Jakobshalle, in Basel, Switzerland, Sunday, March 26, 2023. AP/PTI(AP03_26_2023_000161B)
There are still pairings like Aaron-Soh and the Minions youve never beaten. Your thoughts?
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Satwik: On our current form, and the calm in our game, we are ready to take them on. At the Sudirman Cup we are likely to run into them, we would love to beat them there. Since the Thomas Cup, we love taking up difficult challenges. If someone says you cant beat them, then Ill show we can beat them. We keep enjoying, give our 100 percent and not give up easily.
With the Asian Championship gold, theres buzz about an Olympic medal. Do you see that as pressure?
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Chirag: People are expecting us to play well at the Olympics. Both me and Satwik know we can go all the way. But when we enter we wont think of medal, itll be one match at a time. Right now, target is to qualify and medal at Sudirman, Asian Games and World Championships.
Satwik: Its the ultimate target, it feels good when people expect an Olympic medal from us. Theres not so much pressure as such, we keep it simple. Obviously we are not the Satwik-Chirag from Tokyo. Theres more maturity in us. Well give more than 100 percent for Paris, and we love taking that pressure.
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Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy pose after the medals felicitation ceremony at the Badminton Asian Championships. (BAI)
Theres the upcoming Sudirman Cup. Your thoughts on Indias chances
Chirag: We are in the Group of Death with Malaysia and Chinese Taipei. But after Thomas Cup, there are a lot of expectations from us. We hope to qualify for the quarters and from there aim for the medal definitely.
Satwik: I missed the Mixed Asian Team event due to injury, and felt really bad. I watched volleyball matches to divert my attention! When I came to Dubai, even the organisers were asking why I had missed out. So now Im fully pumped up for the Sudirman Cup. We play as a team, not individually, and we always play well that way. We are in the right form, if rhythm is good, we have a good chance.
Saturday, May 6, 2023 at 8:36 am