“We played some stupid strokes” - Satwik Rankireddy highlights learnings from doubles match against Indonesia in Thomas Cup 2024
India’s doubles pair Chirag Shetty and Satwik Rankireddy suffered a defeat in their doubles clash against Indonesian pair Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana to make it 1-1 in the Thomas Cup 2024.
Speaking after the match, Satwik Rankireddy stated that they played too many bad strokes, which led them to derail in the second game. Furthermore, he emphasized on failing to keep calm in crucial situations to gain some important points.
“I think overall it was a very good match. We were down in the second game. Even though the crowd was cheering them, I thought of showing some attitude, no matter I lose or win. I started playing my game in my rhythm,” Satwik Rankireddy said after the game.
“In the first game, we started on the positive side. Our strategy was wrong as we played some stupid strokes in a hurry in the second game. We couldn’t keep ourselves calm. When we were calm, we got so many easy points. We ourselves made the match tough. It was a good learning for us,” he added.
Though the Indian duo Satwik-Chirag started off the match with a 24-22 win in the first game, they couldn't control the momentum as they suffered defeats in the next two games by 22-24. and 21-19 to lose the match.
Team India ranked in second place in the Thomas Cup 2024
Team India is currently ranked in second place in the ongoing Thomas Cup 2024 with two consecutive victories, securing two valuable points.
On April 27, India bagged a win over Thailand by 4-1 to make it to the second spot in the tally. Later, they bagged a 5-0 dominating win over England to strengthen their second spot in the standings. Notably, India is the defending champion after defeating Indonesia in the Thomas Cup 2022 final.
Earlier in the men’s singles tie, HS Prannoy secured a win over Anthony Sinisuka Ginting by 13-21, 21-12, and 21-12 to help India propel to a 1-0 lead against Indonesia. Lakshya Sen, Srikanth Kidambi, and Dhruv-Sai Pratheek are scheduled to play the next encounters in the tie against Indonesia.