– Tirthesh Jain
In a country like India where the Badminton scenario is predominanatly known by its world class Singles players, with Jwala and Ashwini and Viju and Jwala leading the Womens Doubles and Mixed Doubles but there was no pair to lead the Mens Doubles until Satwik and Chirag came into the picture.
Satwik and Chirag have not only reached the best ranking of any doubles pair in India (WR5) but have also become role models for the upcoming doubles players.
Statistics
Satwik and Chirag first entered the Top 10 in the October of 2019 and have now stayed there for a record 111 weeks till date.
Out of the 6 Finals that they have played they have won 4 of them making their win percentage a good 67% in the Final Matches.
Playing Style
It was Coach Kim Tan Her who paired up Satwik and Chirag together in 2016 as he was of the view that they both were currently the best from the current crop of players they had and since then they have played almost all major tournaments for India.
Both Chirag and Satwik were naturally back court players and it wasn’t easy for them to adjust in their initial days and heres where Coach Tan played and important role in nurturing and developing them together as a pair.
Now Chirag is one of the best at the frontcourt and Satwik has one of the most powerful hard hitting smashes and together both of them form a lethal attacking duo.
Satwik and Chirag have trained under both Kim Tan Her who had the Typical Asian style of training with longer and increased sessions focusing on the Physical aspect of the game and Mathias Boe with the European style of training which focuses on shorter but effective sessions and on the tactical part of the game. This has helped them get the best of both the styles and improved their playing style tremendously.
Plans for 2023
Pullela Gopichand on being asked how he sees Satwik and Chirag shaping up in the next few years said, “They have a complete game and are surely going to be the team to watch out for in the next few years.”
In episode 2 of Backstage with Boria, which aired today, Chirag sounded confident of what they are seeing to achieve in 2023. While highlighting the importance of having a good Doubles Coach and how it has changed their game, he said, “Mathias Boe, our specialised doubles coach and one who has been with us all through, has made a serious difference. All this has helped us get better at key points.”
” I personally feel we both think in a same way while we’re playing.. ” @satwiksairaj & @Shettychirag04 🗣️ on what makes their duo special. An exclusive chat with @BoriaMajumdar. Listen 👇.
Watch #BWB S04 in our 🆕 app 👇https://t.co/Fx01ky324T@AgeasFederal @Wowmomo4u pic.twitter.com/zGWSHSgaa1
— RevSportz (@RevSportz) January 4, 2023
On being asked how they plan to deal with the their record against the Minions and Chia/Soh, Satwik replied, “What we can say is it is a matter of time before we do this. It is not something that really bothers us. Nor is there a kind of mental block. We know we have the game to beat them and sooner than later we will”.
It is a very crucial year with many major tournaments and also the Asian games and Olympics Qualification lined up. On being asked how they are looking forward to it, Satwik said, “As long as are able to maintain our fitness and stay focused, we are ready for any event. We are in the best mental frame. We want to be the world number 1 team and win a medal in Paris for India and we won’t stop till we achieve our dreams.”