Only a select few on this planet know the agony of coming within striking distance of an Olympics medal twice, only to watch it slip away again. One such person is Chirag Shetty, one half of India’s most celebrated badminton duo. The superstar pair were just steps away from Olympic glory in Paris when the dream came crashing down at the quarterfinals against Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik.
Chirag, an otherwise showman on the court, seemed to carry a new air of composure that hadn’t been seen before. Whether it came from the grief of losing an Olympic medal or a newfound calm before stepping back on the court next month is a question only he can answer.
“As athletes you have to deal with heartbreaks as well as big wins. It’s obviously tough to deal with it, it’s been almost 3 months now, and I think you can’t really get over it. All you can do is put that grief into better areas that can actually motivate you and push you and get you back on the court” said Chirag with a smile on his face.
“I think that’s what we are doing right now, and we are really looking forward to getting back on court, because it’s been almost 3 months since we played a tournament.”
After Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy’s battle with injuries and a 3 month long break, the Sat-Chi duo will return to court in China next month. However, Chirag has acknowledged that they’ll be testing the waters and regrouping rather than going all out.
“I think it’s been a long time since we played a tournament and Satwik is just coming back from an injury. So our goal is to participate and see how it goes and our actual target starts from next year”
While the pair continues to mourn their lost Olympic medal, they remain hopeful and are already setting their sights on the LA 2028 Olympics.
“LA is still four years from now and I think we will give everything to go out there, and hopefully better ourselves than Paris.”
“But on the way we have the All England and also the World championship gold medal. We need to win them and we will do our absolute best to do so”, concluded Chirag.
It is evident that India’s favourite badminton duo has taken the loss more to heart than many would have thought. The real challenge lies in returning to the court with renewed confidence and hunger, as if nothing has happened. If anyone can do it, it’s Sat-Chi, the perfect blend of fire and passion.