The Indian badminton fraternity is patiently awaiting the return of their favourite duo, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. The men’s doubles pair has been through a rough patch, owing to injuries and personal losses. Following the Paris Olympics heartbreak, where the duo exited the competition in the quarter-finals, they have had to withdraw from several tournaments, including conceding a match at the All England.
But now the pair are looking ahead and are all set to make a comeback at the 2025 Singapore Open, which begins today. Their first match is scheduled against the Malaysian pair of H.J. Choong and M. Haikal. Speaking to RevSportz in an exclusive conversation earlier, the duo opened up on their path to a comeback and how they supported each other through their struggles.
Satwik’s injury concerns started post the Paris heartbreak
“It was quite heartbreaking. It took us time to get back on court, especially for me. I was injured. I was playing with injuries before the Olympics as well. So I wanted to settle down and start fresh. After the Olympics, I was not mentally in a place to get back to action so quickly. And physically also I was struggling. It took us a lot of time. Then I couldn’t figure out what injury it was, like how severe it was. I was having back issues back then. But luckily, Chirag supported me, he was there for me all the time,” recalled Satwik.
“He (Chirag) was talking to all the doctors and he was doing all this stuff on behalf of me. Kudos to him because he was there for me and encouraged me. Then luckily, we got back on track with the China Open. We played in the semis. Then we started the year well. We played two semi-finals, the India Open and Malaysia Open. So, it was quite tough after the Olympics. But that’s how it is. You need to cope with all those things.”
Chirag, who has been struggling with a back injury, owing to which the duo had to concede the All England match, opened up on his road to recovery.
“I’ve had a back issue for almost eight, nine years now. But I’ve been able to handle it over the past many years. Never really had to withdraw from a tournament. But this time, when it happened at the All England, it was quite severe. I had an annular tear. So I had to take it easy. We were expecting to come back at the Sudirman Cup, but the pain hadn’t subsided. So the doctors and the physios asked me to go slower and not rush into action. There was a possibility of the injury aggravating,” said Chirag.
It was not only each other’s support but also a famous quote from The Shawshank Redemption that kept Chirag going. “‘Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies.’ That line stayed with me throughout the rehab and recovery phase. Every day, a little bit of pressure, a little bit of effort, and eventually he broke free. I think it’s the same for us. You have to do small things consistently every day, and over time, you’ll see the results. That’s one of the most important lessons I took from the movie, and it really stuck with me during this period,” said Chirag.
With what the duo claimed to be one of the “worst phases” of their career now behind them, the pair is laser-focused on making a comeback. Satwik says “it’s only a matter of time” until the two get back to their old groove.
“It’s just a matter of time. It’s pretty clear as well. We just want to get back on court. There’s no goals for us. We want to get back to 100% fitness. And we want to play some good badminton for a few months without any breaks. We’ve been on and off, on and off, on and off for almost one year. After the Olympics, we’ve been playing with a few injuries here and there. But I think we’re on the right track now. It’s just a matter of time. Once we get back on court, I think we know what we can do. We can recall all our memories, how we used to play. But right now, our goal is to get back to fitness and play some good badminton.”
National badminton coach Pullela Gopichand also spoke to RevSportz exclusively about how the duo are shaping up at the Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad.
“Tan Kim Her has been working with them and I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before they regain their confidence and performance.”