New Delhi: Indian men’s doubles pair in badminton, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, hasn’t been in action ever since the Paris Olympics 2024 in August this year. The World No.7 ranked shuttlers were dubbed as favourites to finish on the podium from the Indian contingent at the quadrennial showpiece event.
Satwik and Chirag won two out of their three Group C matches with their contest against Germany was cancelled after Mark Lamfuss suffered an injury during the tournament, ending his run with partner Marvin Seidel in the Olympics.
As a result, Satwik and Chirag became the first Indian men’s doubles pair to reach the quarterfinals of the Olympics event. However, the Indian shuttlers couldn’t make the distance after they lost in a thrilling quarterfinal clash against the eventual bronze medallists, Malaysian pair of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik.
Ever since the defeat, the Indian badminton fans haven’t seen the sight of Satwik and Chirag in the badminton arena. Chirag said that they will return to competitive badminton mostly in next month once Satwik is cleared off his injury.
“My partner is injured currently, we will start soon and make our plan. Hopefully, we will return next month as Satwik is undergoing rehab,” Chirag told news agency ANI on the sidelines of Delhi Half Marathon in the national capital.
Chirag Shetty’s reaction on missing out on Olympics medal
Satwik and Chirag have won many prestigious titles together including gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022 and Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2023. They have also claimed a bronze medal in the 2021 World Championships in Spain.
The duo raised the bar for Indian badminton with every achievement added in the cabinet. They accounted for five titles last year, including the Asian Games gold, and subsequently won the French Open and Thailand Open this year in the build up to the Paris Olympics. However, they weren’t at their best to live up to the billing in the mega event.
“We wanted to win a medal in the Paris Olympics but that was not to be. But never say never. We have won almost every medal except for an Olympic medal. We would also like to win gold in the World Championships,” Chirag said.
