“They are a title contender” - Former Olympian Parupalli Kashyap terms Satwik-Chirag as Paris 2024 Olympics gold favorites
With the Paris 2024 Olympics starting on July 26, the badminton pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will be among those hoping to win an Olympic medal for India.
The Satwik-Chirag duo have given the Indian fans hopes of winning the country’s first Olympic gold medal, as well as its first badminton doubles medal at the Games. India has previously won three Olympic medals in badminton, with each coming from singles events.
Now, 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medalist Parupalli Kashyap, who is working as an Olympics expert for JioCinema and Sports18, believes that the Satwik-Chirag pair can finish the Paris 2024 Olympics with a gold medal.
“I think they [Satwik-Chirag] are a title contender. And I think the wins in Asian Games, Asian Championships, medals in World Championships, they are one of the title contenders,” Kashyap was quoted as saying by PTI.
“I think Satwik-Chirag, the Chinese pair [Wang Chang and Liang Wei Keng], and the Korean pair [Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae]. These three are the favorites to win the gold,” he added.
Satwiksairaj and Chirag have had a supremely successful patch of form in the last two years, winning medals at the Tokyo World Championships (bronze), Birmingham Commonwealth Games (gold and silver), and the Hangzhou Asian Games (gold and silver) in 2022. The pair also won gold medals at the 2023 Dubai Asian Championships and the 2022 Thomas Cup.
“Their tough competitors will be the Chinese pair against whom they lost during the Thomas Cup. In the last two encounters, I think the Chinese pair won against Chirag and Satwik. So they are the immediate threat," said Kashyap speaking on their opponents.
“They had a couple of tough matches against the Koreans who won the World Championships but I think they scored a win against them in another tournament. So I think the Chinese pair and the Korean pair, these two are the ones who are going to be tough for Chirag and Satvik, but I think they would be feeling the same about them,” he added.
Besides Satwik-Chirag, Kashyap backs ‘dark horses’ HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen at Paris 2024 Olympics
Parupalli Kashyap also backed the other Indian badminton duo at the Paris 202 Olympics, HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen, to perform well at their debut Olympic appearance and termed the pair as ‘dark horses’ of the tournament.
“I think Lakshya and Prannoy are one of the dark horses in the draw,” Kashyap said as per PTI.
“Both Lakshya and Prannoy have faced tough situations and have come out trumps… They are capable of anything but they are surely the dark horses,” Kashyap added. "They can beat anyone in the draw, be it Li Shi Feng or Victor. I won't say they are the favorites, but they have a huge chance to create upsets and progress in the tournament."
The badminton events at the Paris 2024 Olympics are scheduled to start on July 27.