“I feel it’s like mini-Olympics” - Satwiksairaj Rankireddy anticipates strong competition at Asian Games 2023
With the 2023 Asian Games fast approaching, all eyes are on the men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who are well-placed to bag a medal at the multi-nation event.
Satwiksairaj and Chirag made their Asian Games bow in 2018, where they beat Hong Kong's Yonny Chung and Tam Chun Hei in the opening round before losing to South Korea's Choi Sol-gyu and Kang Min-hyuk in the Round of 16.
Five years later, they enter the latest edition of the event on a much stronger footing. They have had a very productive year so far, with four titles under their belt and reaching a career-high World No. 2 ranking in July.
With the 2023 Asian Games set to get underway in Hangzhou on September 23, Satwiksairaj is hoping to perform better than they did in Jakarta five years ago. That said, he isn't expecting an easy ride owing to the strength of the doubles circuit in Asia.
“I feel it’s like mini-Olympics, the Asian Games. Doubles is very strong in Asia. So every team is a tough team for us. We don’t take anyone lightly. We want to do well, better than last time, which was our first time playing in that tournament. Now, after four years, we are here and we are going to go have fun,” he told in a press interaction on the sidelines of an event.
Satwiksairaj stated that he and Chirag will play their hearts out at the Asian Games, like they always do at big-ticket events.
“I feel all the Games are very different from other tournaments. As in, the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, and Olympic Games. Same opponents but different approaches, I feel,” he said.
“As in, we play really well in the Commonwealth Games or any major tournaments, we always play our hearts out. It is not that we don’t give our 100 percent in other tournaments. But, definitely, we put in more than 100% effort in these bigger tournaments,” he added.
While Satwiksairaj admitted that the ultimate goal remains the Paris Olympics, which is less than a year away, he stated that they are not focusing on it just yet.
“Olympic Games are the ultimate, everyone has a common goal there, to perform well and win as many rounds as possible. We are not thinking so much about it, we just want to take it step by step and once we are there, we go all in,” he opined.
“It gives us the pressure, in a positive way” - Satwiksairaj Rankireddy on being ranked World No. 2 with Chirag Shetty this season
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty's Korea Open win earlier this year saw them rise to a career-best second spot in the BWF world rankings.
While happy with achieving such milestones, Satwiksairaj has stated that their ranking does not matter as long as they play well and pick up good results. He also said that while a good ranking brings added pressure, they will take it in a positive light to work harder and maintain their standards.
“I don’t see the numbers, I don’t see that we are World No. 1, or 2 or 10. At the end of the day, what matters is if we perform well or not. I think it’s a good thing to be World No. 2, it shows our consistency at the top level. So we are playing consistently. It feels great,” he said.
“Yeah, somewhere it feels a little pressure, that 2 number keeps poking me all the time. No. 1 is very near, it gives us the pressure, in a positive way, to work hard. So I think it is a good thing for us,” he added.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are currently ranked World No. 3.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy was speaking at an event where the trophy for the PNB-Metlife Junior Badminton Championship was unveiled.