CHENGDU: India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty (pic) chose to forgo their No. 1 ranking to make sure they were in the best shape to help their team defend their Thomas Cup Finals title and hope their sacrifice pays off.
Satwiksairaj and Chirag returned to the top spot in the world after capturing the French Open last month but dropped to No. 3 after skipping the Asian Championships a fortnight ago.
The former had a slight shoulder injury and did not want to take a risk so close to the prestigious team meet.
“We were kind of prioritising the Thomas Cup. I had a shoulder injury but could train,” said Satwiksairaj.
“The team meet is really important for us and we started preparing ourselves early.
“We want to do well this year too.”
Capturing the title once has whetted Satwiksairaj-Chirag’s appetite and they are confident in the team’s capability to pull off another stunning triumph.
“It’s always fun playing team events. It’s never easy and rankings don’t matter here,” said Satwiksairaj.
“Every player in the team needs to play well at the same time. Last time, we did that pretty well during the whole tournament
“We are getting back that rhythm and we are pretty confident we can do something big here as well.
“Everyone in the team is pumped up and are taking this tournament seriously,” he added.
India have already assured themselves a spot in the quarter-finals after beating Thailand 4-1 and England 5-0 in their opening two Group C matches.
The team will next go up against 14-time winners Indonesia in their last group match in a repeat of the last final in 2022.
India pulled off a stunning 3-0 win to capture the title in Bangkok.
On facing Indonesia again, Satwiksairaj said: “Both the teams are extremely strong in the singles and doubles, so it’s going to be an even contest.”
