In India, Badminton was a mediocre sport until veterans like Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand displayed commendable performance at the International level. It was after this that people started taking the sport a little seriously. Eventually, Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu took the sport at even greater heights in terms of popularity, revenue, and overall development of the sport. This was all about the singles category in the sport whereas, doubles was nowhere to be seen. Well, in the men’s doubles category, Satwiksairaj and Chirag Shetty have given hope to all the men’s doubles players of India.
The young duo, Satwiksairaj, and Chirag Shetty achieved a milestone by not only winning the first-ever Superseries title in men’s doubles category i.e. Thailand Open 2019 but also becoming the first Indian pair to reach a final of a 750 points event at the French Open 2019. They also won Brazil International Challenge in 2019 and reached the semifinals of the Denmark Challenge in the same year.
At the 2019 China Open, the shuttlers performed explicitly and outclassed the World no. 3 pair of China in two straight sets to reach the semi-final of the event. The semi-final was against the World no. 1 pair from Indonesia and this was their seventh meeting against them. Though the duo lost in straight sets, they gave a tough fight with a score of 21-16, 22-20. The 40 minutes match was intense with fast rallies and breathtaking defensive shots. Satwik’s smashes and the way Chirag covered the frontcourt and returned the opponent’s smashes was worth a watch.
The duo is currently ranked World no. 10 as per the recent ranking. In fact, they are currently the highest-ranked men’s doubles pair of India. With the Olympics in proximity, the boys are near to qualification for the event. Such impressive performance at an early age has changed the way men’s doubles was looked upon in India and inspired many others to take up the sport just like the way Saina and Sindhu have done.
Final Thoughts
The duo has scripted history with their performances. They have the potential and coordination to become one of the top doubles pair in the World.
I hope you enjoyed this story.
Thanks for reading. Keep playing.
