Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty reclaim No. 1 spot in BWF Rankings after Thailand Open win
Ace Indian badminton men's doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty reclaimed their number one spot in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) Rankings updated on Tuesday, May 21.
Notably, the Asian Games gold medallist duo of Chirag and Satwiksairaj emerged victorious in the recently concluded Thailand Open Super 500 badminton tournament on Sunday, May 19.
The in-form duo defeated China's Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi 21-15, 21-15 to add another title to their trophy cabinet. Interestingly, this was the duo’s second Thailand Open title after winning the first one way back in 2019 and their ninth BWF World Tour title overall. This is their second title of the year after winning the French Open in March.
“We are hoping that this victory will start another winning run for us” - Satwiksairaj
In the newly updated rankings by the BWF on Tuesday, the Indian duo rocketed from the third to the pole position to regain the No. 1 rank with 99,670 points. Speaking after the Thailand Open title win, Satwiksairaj hoped to win more titles in the coming days.
"Thailand Open has been a special tournament for us as we won our first Super 500 crown here and have won many more tournaments thereafter. We are hoping that this victory will start another winning run for us," Satwik was quoted as saying by BAI.
"We knew that we could not relax even for a single point against our opponents as they fight till the end. But we played our best game of the tournament today and controlled the situation very well," he added.
Furthermore, the Indian women’s doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa, who made it to the semifinals of the Thailand Open, moved two spots up to the 19th rank.
Imphal-born badminton player Meiraba Luwang Maisnam surged 13 spots to reach the 71st rank after his impressive run in the Thailand Open 2024 that included a win over HS Prannoy in the Round of 32 en route to the quarter-finals.