New Delhi: Ace Indian shuttler Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, who is known for his on-court exploits with his longtime doubles pair Chirag Shetty, will be heading to the Paris Olympics 2024 as one of the seven qualified shuttlers representing India in the French capital. Out of the 117-member Indian delegation, badminton will comprise of four male players and three females out of which Satwik and Chirag are the only contestants in the men’s doubles category.
With less than a week left before the commencement of the grand event, the badminton duo of Satwik and Chirag will be one of the country’s brightest prospects for a medal, particularly vying for India’s first-ever badminton men’s doubles medal. Satwik (along with Chirag) is already a World Championship bronze medallist and reigning Asian Games champion and will look to add more glory feathers to his cap.
The duo, currently ranked no. 3 in the world’s badminton doubles rankings, were handed a favourable draw in Group C for the men’s doubles badminton competition at the Summer Games 2024. They are notably also the first Indian doubles pair to secure the world’s No. 1 spot in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings. Satwik has also won the BWF World Tour 1000 series and along with Chirag, also became the 5th pair in men’s doubles history to achieve 100000 points in the BWF ranking.
All you need to know about Satwiksairaj Rankireddy
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy was born on August 13, 2000, in Amalapuram, Andhra Pradesh, and started playing badminton following the footsteps of his father, who was himself a state-level badminton player in the past. At the tender age of 13, in 2014, he joined Pullela Gopichand’s “Gopichand Badminton Academy” in Hyderabad, where he decided to become a doubles specialist.
He stands 6 feet or 1.84 metre tall and shines with a Guinness World Record for the fastest smash by a male badminton player, with his smash reaching a speed of 565 km/hr. With the hit, he surpassed the previous record of 493 km/hr, held by Malaysian player Tan Boon Heong who set it in 2013. The record-breaking smash arrived at the Yonex factory gymnasium in Soka, Saitama, Japan in controlled conditions. The Guinness World Records’ official judges verified the speed measurement results and announced Satwik’s historic feat.
Satwik was bestowed with Arjuna Award for badminton in August 2020 and was also honored with Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, the highest sporting honour of India, in December 2023.
Heroics with Chirag
As Satwik paired up with Chirag as a badminton doubles duo at the Gopichand Badminton Academy, they kicked off their doubles career in 2018. There has been no looking back in their six years of journey together. At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, the duo were a part of India’s mixed team, which clinched a historic gold medal and both claimed a silver at the same event in the men’s doubles category.
The same year saw them winning their first BWF World Title at the Hyderabad Open. In 2019, the duo became the first Indian doubles pair to win a BWF Superseries as they won the Thailand Open by beating China.
The year 2020 saw the pandemic following which the duo went through the worst period of their careers so far. They crashed out at the 2020 Thailand Open and were also eliminated in the group stages of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. But the year ended a bit on a high for them as they qualified for the “BWF World Tour Finals” tournament, only to withdraw later after a loss in their first group stage match.
In 2022, Satwik and Chirag played a pivotal role as part of a team that won the Thomas Cup – India’s first title in the competition’s history. They further went on to clinch a gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, followed by a bronze medal at the BWF World Championships – India’s first medal in the competition’s history.
The duo continued their stellar run by winning their first ever BWF World Super 750 title in the French Open followed by 2023 which saw them win the Swiss Open, World Super 1000 title, the Korean Open, and the noteworthy – being crowned the Asian Champions by bagging gold at the Asian Badminton Championships.
This year has already seen them reaching three major finals, where they finished runners-up at the Malaysia Open and India Open, and finally, were crowned champions at the French Open in the tune-up to the Paris Games.
The Asian Champion and World Championships medallist Satwiksairaj Rankireddy will aim to win India’s first ever badminton men’s doubles medal at the Paris Olympics 2024. Badminton Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
