“Chirag is just incredibly consistent on the front pitch” - Satwik Rankireddy hails his partner; terms him ‘one of the best’
World No. 1 doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have been in excellent form in the past two years, winning multiple accolades. After their successive runner-up finishes earlier this year, the duo reclaimed their No. 1 ranking for the second time.
The Indian pair got candid in their latest interview with Indian Express. Chirag stated what exactly Satwik does when he makes a mistake and simultaneously, Satwik emphasized what takes Chirag to get back to normal when he is having a bad day.
“When Satwik makes a mistake, he gets angry in Telugu. When he is very upset, he starts scolding himself in Telugu,” Chirag told Indian Express.
“Chirag is just incredibly consistent on the front pitch. He is one of the best and even on a bad day, if I need to go a step further, it doesn’t take long for him to come out of a bad run of points, maximum 10 points, and he is back to a good level. I can predict that,” Satwik stated.
Staying injury-free is important, states the duo
Furthermore, the duo conveyed the dos and don’ts ahead of making it to the Paris Olympics 2024. The pair would be aiming to stay injury-free and not play too many tournaments leading to the mega event in Paris.
“Do’s are staying injury-free and taking care of the body. It is not wise not to play in too many tournaments, so it will only be the Thomas Cup, and 2 of the 4 tournaments later,” Chirag quoted.
Additionally, Chirag and Satwik had their say on their future celebration ideas. Though they tried Vijay-Pooja Hegde's ‘Arabic Kuthu’ after winning a semi-final in Delhi, it didn’t come out well.
“We are trying to learn Naatu Naatu, hopefully, we can do it in a tournament,” Chirag said. “I actually like dancing to Arabic Kuthu – Halamithi Habibo. We tried it after winning the Delhi semi-final but it didn’t work out well,” Satwik concluded.
The India duo will be next seen in the Thomas Cup defending their title in the last week of April. Unfortunately, the pair pulled out of their title defense at the Badminton Asia Championships after Satwik injured his shoulder.