Satwik SaiRaj RankiReddy/ Chirag Shetty

Your photograph clicks bring out the emotions and intensity to us. A great pic as always Lurker.

 

The way Boe celebrates makes me respect him more. He is the engine behind their success. I hope they continue to be together and bring out the best out of this partnership. Thank you Boe for being there.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CtoLqrPMbo4/?igshid=MWQ1ZGUxMzBkMA==

 

I can only think of badminton which has taken a wave across the nation. First wave started due to Saina and now many people are aware about this sport, they play it for recreation purposes. We play at office court in the evening. Many people in my office are buying new rackets. They just learnt 3 months ago. So yeah a big market. The beautiful sport deserves it.

 

Link: https://indianexpress.com/article/s...satwik-and-chirag-to-find-the-hunger-8671484/


Mathias Boe reveals how a week before scripting history, Satwik and Chirag needed a bit of ‘soul searching’ to find hunger

The rising Indian pair had been stunned in the first round of the Singapore Open by the Japanese duo Akira Koga and Taichi Saito, a defeat which came on the heels of a second round defeat at the Thailand Open. The Danish coach was blunt in his assessment with the Indians: they seemed to be lacking hunger and had gotten sloppy.

In fact, at one point, the coach even suggested that they not make the journey to Indonesia at all. Eventually, the trio ended up making the trip. The rest, as the cliche goes, is history.

We did a little bit of soul searching in Singapore to find that hunger which is required for these boys to win. Then they stepped up and played some really good matches from the second round. I’m extremely proud. As I have revealed earlier, I like to win a bit more than I like to lose.

I tell the boys that when we go on court we need to find that bit extra and we need to be hungry. I try to give them these motivational speeches from my side. I don’t know how good I am at it. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. It’s about what they think about themselves. That they’re hungry.

You want to see your opponents stressed. You want to see them looking like they want to crawl out of their body and leave the court. But if you see your opponents having so much fun even when they’re making mistakes, that’s a little bit of an extra (edge). I want them to relax and try and enjoy it.



Read the full interview. Boe had some really psychological and blunt talk there.

 

I’m surprised that even after registering such big wins in IO super 1000, this thread is silent. What has happened to you guys @Sumanth99 @mohans @badmuse @80plus @S Chandrasekhar @nilesh123 @ChildrenOfBadminton @Biglever @Vivek Bagadhi ?

 

Yes for me the final was the semifinal match against KangSeo. Them defeating FajRi was also special considering the latter are WR1 and were playing in front of hostile Istora crowd. The final too, they were 0-8 h2h against AaronChia and defeating them in straights, uffff. Couldn’t have asked for anything better.

After reading interview of Boe, I came to know how much down were SatChi after Singapore and Malaysia Open that Boe had to tell them let’s not go to Indonesia. So that hard talk changed things around and I can see now why Chirag was turning back to Boe and celebrating and saying something like “We told you, we will give our best”. I saw all three matches and I noticed they played with such confidence that they will eat alive. That hunger and confidence, I’ve never seen from them. WR3 now, more focus would be on them. Good luck to them.

 

Link: https://www.hindustantimes.com/spor...chand-hails-satwikchirag-101687190574241.html


'Two guys with high quality hitting’, Gopichand hails Satwik-Chirag


“After winning the Swiss Open and Asian Championships, I wouldn’t say we were not hungry at all, but there was slight dip. A few matches here and there and suddenly confidence went down. Both of us were depressed with the way we played. We spoke to each other and knew we had to go higher,” said Chirag, 25.

Satwik concurred: “We performed badly in the past month. We became lazy and passive, thinking it was under control, but it wasn't. It was a wakeup call. We told ourselves to be alert, otherwise we will keep crashing out in first round.”


“Gopi sir came after a long time. Just his presence on the court made me feel so positive. When he’s there we’re always alert. His influence is such that whenever I see his face, I feel everything is under control,” said Satwik, who joined Gopichand’s academy in 2014. Gopichand responded: “As a support team you need to ensure that they stay positive and focused. That is what we have done.”

Having conquered the Indonesia Open, the duo is already looking ahead. “This is just the start. We need to go and win even bigger tournaments,” concluded Chirag.

 

It gives me immense pleasure and satisfaction that the posts which I wrote in 2019 and 2020 here regarding what needs to be done for them to reach the next level. “Improve Defence” and I was reading the below article which stated that Chirag is confident (not over) regarding the pair’s defence. Even I noticed their defence has improved. Nothing is more impressive than an individual’s strive for betterment and the results after the betterment. They become a new version of themselves- condidence is the key.

Link: https://indianexpress.com/article/s...-court-chiraj-shetty-rules-the-world-8671562/


From mid-court, Chirag Shetty rules the world

“We’ve come close in beating them but we’ve held ourselves back, but this time we stuck to the plan and it paid rich dividends. Plan was to not hold ourselves back while receiving. We’ve always served well against them. Their service and receiving is good, serve spins a lot. So we had to be upfront. Also knew rallies will be short. Didn’t want that. If the shuttle was low we were lifting it instead of putting in in between because we knew our defense is strong now,” Shetty told the BWF.

“The previous 8 times we lost we always felt we could’ve defended well,” Rankireddy told the BWF.

It took a while to course correct. “Starting we were playing to their strength – they wanted fast, flat. But then we said in the break let’s play our style, let’s open up the game. Let them move, let them work to get the point. That was the strategy. First they played well to get to 6-3, then they gave away five easy points. Realised they are under pressure. In the second we decided we will defend, no problem our defense is good,” Satwik added.


The above article is a good read who want to know the tactical and technical side of the game.

 

Link: https://bwfworldtour.bwfbadminton.c.../18/indonesia-open-lowest-low-to-highest-high

“We played with a lot of conviction, we stuck to the gameplan,” said Shetty. “In the earlier eight matches against them, we’d held ourselves back. But we stuck with the plan and we knew they are humans, eventually they will make mistakes. So till the end we didn’t give them a chance. We didn’t need to hold ourselves back and play safe, which sort of becomes slow and they are good at capitalising on that, so we just went with the plan. We really needed this win.”

“It’s a happy performance after a bad month,” said Rankireddy. “We’d become lazy, I’d say passive, we thought it’s under control. But it wasn’t under control. It was a wake-up call for us, the last two tournaments – to be alert, or be smashed in the first round itself. More than winning the tournament, beating them – you don’t get it often. When we play next time we’ll go all-in like this, so it’s a confidence boost going ahead.

“Winning Indonesia was a dream; a lot of legends have played here. At the beginning the aim was to get an entry to play here. From there to winning this tournament has been a long journey, and I love the way we played today.”

 

It shows how much Gopi’s presence means to his students. I remember back in 2012 or 2013, Guru Sai Dutt or Kashyap once infamously said after losing 5 match points and then ultimately the match - “If Gopi sir were there, I would have surely won the match”. To be honest, even I feel confident when I watch him from home. It feels, maybe he has a plan to defeat the opponent. I wish he starts to travel with the players during major tournaments or where it really matters.

 

Link: https://sportstar.thehindu.com/badm...erview-world-no-3-ranking/article66992550.ece


‘Chirag believes combining with Satwik to be ‘one of his career defining moments’

Chirag Shetty believes that combining with R. Satwiksairaj is one of the defining moments of his career.

“Yes, in fact, for both of us, it has been a decisive phase. Initially, I was sceptical for sure. But, when we look back now, it certainly was a very, very good decision,” Chirag said in an exclusive chat with Sportstar after the duo completed a historic men’s doubles title triumph in the recent Indonesia Open badminton championship.

“Definitely, unlike in the past, there are no definite roles like that he should take care of defence or I should attack or vice versa. We are now adept in adapting to a given situation, and our responses in a crisis have been effective,” Chirag said of his partnership.


“Satwik is a very calm and composed guy, ensuring the pressure doesn’t build up. We complement each other pretty well with a clear strategy going into a match,” he said.

“I believe we need to work a lot more on defence though we are a lot more steadier than we were a few years ago,” Chirag said. “Honestly, learning is a never-ending process as they say. We can never be perfect,” he added.


Looking back at the Indonesia Open doubles title, the 26-year-old Chirag said winning any title – be it in the Super 500 or Super 1000 – would always be a big thing. “I don’t think the difference in standard is too big. And, we still have to give our best to win any title,” he said.

“Yes, beating Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Wooi Yik Soh convincingly in the final, to whom we lost eight times before, was something special. We just put behind the earlier disappointments, and it was quite challenging and eventually very satisfying to win the contest,” Chirag said.

“Our tactics were different for each match depending on the style of the opponents. For instance, the Chinese played fast, which we had to slow down. The World No. 1 pair of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto in the quarterfinal was trying to keep the shuttle low like us and didn’t want to lift it. So, for each match, the coach (Mathias Boe) was ready with a different kind of strategy,” Chirag said.


Chirag and Satwik are now ranked World No.3, and the former believed it would be a great boost as they prepare for bigger challenges.

“At the start of the year, we were No.5. Though the ranking shows a difference of only two numbers, there is a huge gap in terms of points logged,” he said.

“Our target is to become the World No.1, and we can achieve that if we continue to play as well as we did in the Indonesia Open,” Chirag said.

“Our ultimate target is to win a medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics once we seal our place. But, our immediate targets are the World Championship and the Asian Games,” he said.

On the pressure of expectations, Chirag said it had been there since 2019 when they broke into the top 10 but said he would look at this positively.

“I feel this also means more and more people are interested in knowing about you, and it is good for Indian badminton too,” he said. “I also feel that we perform better if there is a little bit of pressure too or else we might become passive,” he concluded.

 

Link: https://sportstar.thehindu.com/badm...s-2024-pullela-gopi-chand/article66989276.ece


Satwiksairaj hails coach Mathias Boe, terms Indonesia triumph ‘one of the biggest achievements’


“It is now three versus two when we take on the opponents as Mathias Boe (doubles specialist coach of the Indian pair) is omnipresent as we take on the best in the world,” says R. Satwiksairaj, fresh from a historic men’s doubles victory, partnering Chirag Shetty, in the Indonesia Open last Sunday.



In an exclusive chat with Sportstar after returning home on Tuesday, the 23-year-old Satwik said that Boe learnt a couple of Hindi words too like ‘peechey, peechey khelo’ (play back) and had been a truly inspirational presence.

“Though for any match we enter the court with a clear strategy, there will be moments during the match when Boe chips in with invaluable advice like during serve - to go for the flick or the backhand. His emphasis on reminding us the key points during a contest have had a telling effect,” Satwik explained.

“He always tells us never to lose a match easily, give more than 100 per cent and even if the opponents win, they should be given the credit,” he said.

“We have to work like a computer, figuring out a solution for every crisis in double quick time. There will be moments where we have to be good in our instincts,” Satwik said.

“Honestly ,Boe joined us at the right time two years ago and ever since there has been a whole lot of change in our champion mindset, approach and attitude. We are far more confident, definitely not complacent, and very clear in our task,” the champion doubles shuttler said.

Satwik further said that the recent win is one of the biggest achivements in the shuttler’s life.

“Yes, by all means Indonesian doubles triumph is one of the biggest achievements of our life. For Boe kept telling us that only legends have been winning this prestigious title. That way, it gave us great satisfaction,” Satwik said.

“Definitely, the preparations were different for the Indonesian Open. We played as if there was nothing to lose as we realised that every combination is on the same page. All we needed was to stay focussed. Once we reached the quarterfinal, the court feeling was much better, like we had control over the drift factor and we were more confident,” he said.


Reflecting on the big goal ahead of winning an Olympics medal, a smiling Satwik felt the Olympics would be all about destiny.

“From whatever videos I have seen, some of the legends who have been dominant in the circuit in the preceding years have fumbled. Perhaps, they panicked because of expectations,” he said.


“And, this is exactly what we don’t do. Our focus will be just on preparations and not expectations. We don’t want to think too much about the Olympics medal in the run-up to the mega event,” Satwik said.

“If someone says that we (he and Chriag) are the biggest medal hopes from India in the Olympics, I take it as a positive without feeling any pressure at all,” he said.

Reflecting on his journey with Chirag, Satwik recalled that he was a bit surprised when he had to start playing with Chirag after doing well with Krishna Prasad in the juniors and seniors circuit.

“I didn’t want to question the choice because I always felt that if I play well, I will get a quality partner. So, initially there was some discomfort and the language problem too with Chirag. He thinks in a posh Mumbai style and I have a typical South Indian attitude. But fortunately, for us the common goal was to sync well and win. So, soon, we settled down well and now the results are there for everyone to see,” he explained.

When asked about the areas the pair needs to focus, he said, “Need to work more on body language, attitude and mindset. We are targeting a mindset which fetched us convincing wins against the World No.1 pair and the reigning world champions in Indonesia. That is the hunger we should have consistently,” Satwik said.

“We want to earn that kind of reputation of being invincible, instil that kind of fear and respect for us where the opponents concede a few easy points very early in a match,” he said.

“With Boe and Gopi Sir (chief national coach) around, we are confident of being consistent at the highest level. The secret of our success is that we complement each other in defence and attack. We know when to swap the roles under pressure,” a confident Satwik signed off, reminding that they have one month gap for preparing for their next big events - Korea and the Japan Opens.