No holds barred: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (left) and Chirag Shetty will give more than 100% in their Olympics challenge.
PETALING JAYA: Indian men’s doubles shuttlers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty have set their sights on capturing a historic Olympic gold on their happy hunting ground.
Satwiksairaj-Chirag have fond memories of Paris after winning the French Open twice in 2022 and last March and finishing runners-up in the tournament in 2019.
The pair’s triumph in March was especially significant as it came at the Adidas Arena in Porte de la Chapelle which will be the same venue that will host the badminton competition in the Olympics from July 27-Aug 5.
Although Satwiksairaj-Chirag know that they will face a different challenge this time around, they are keen to go all out to win what will be a first gold for India in badminton in the Olympics.
The world No. 3 pair are one of the favourites for the title and are keen to add another major crown to their name after capturing the Asian Games gold in Hangzhou and Asian Championships in Dubai last year.
“Paris has always been good for us. The Olympics is going to be completely different, really fun and exciting for us,” said Satwiksairaj.
“A lot of people have high expectations and we want to go there and give more than 100 per cent.”
The pair, who are known for their explosive power and speed on court, are not lacking in confidence.
“We get the feeling we can do it. I mean, if we’ve won titles in so many places across the world, we should be able to win anywhere, right? We now have that confidence,” said Chirag.
“It’s how we handle the pressure. Everybody wins on their good days. It’s how you overcome your bad days and win those scratchy matches; that’s what stands out for us.”
Satwiksairaj-Chirag will be making their second appearance in the Olympics after debuting in the last edition in Tokyo in 2021.
The duo did not survive their group in Tokyo but believe that they are more experienced this time around.
“The last time, we played our first Olympics where we were eliminated in the group stage,” said Satwiksairaj.
“That time, we didn’t have much experience playing on the bigger stage but I think we have it now.”
This time, Satwiksairaj-Chirag have been drawn in a favourable looking Group C along with Indonesia’s All-England champions Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto, Germany’s Mark Lamsfuss-Marvin Seidel and French pair Lucas Corvee-Ronan Labar.
The top two pairs will qualify for the quarter-finals and the Indians will be the hot favourites to progress along with Fajar-Rian.
