NEW DELHI: After winning the first-ever BWF Super 1000 World Tour title in the Indonesia Open men’s doubles event, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy expressed his joy for achieving the career-best BWF World Rankings as Satwiksairaj and Chirag Shetty climbed three spots up to become World No 3.
Indian star shuttler duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had made history by clinching the maiden Indonesia Open 2023 title on Sunday defeating world champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia.
“Feels really nice to hear that we are number three. We always wanted to be among the best consistently–consistency matters in world rankings. We are happy with the way we are playing. We never really focused on rankings, and never discussed it. We just focused on doing well in tournaments,” Satwiksairaj Rankireddy told ANI.
Satwiksairaj shared that the final win was more special as they defeated the Malaysian duo for the first time in nine encounters. In the final game, Satwiksairaj- Chirag duo were playing against World Champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik. Satwiksairaj shared that the final win was more special as they defeated the Malaysian duo for the first time in nine encounters.
The men’s double players said that they were optimistic about winning the semi-final and they did not take any pressure of the Final.
“Deep inside, we knew that the game was ours. We did not start really well; we could have won the first game. We started the second game on a positive note, we got the lead, and we gave them some points. In the final game, we got a good lead and we gave them chances. They did not take any chances. We did not take the pressure,” he added.
Satwiksairaj in the interview disclosed that his favourite win was the Quarter-final game as there was a huge support gathered for the Indonesian players Alfian F. and Ardianto M. R. They had won the match in two straight games 21-13,21-13.
“I would say that I prefer our QF performance. We entered the court and everyone was booing us, there was no support. They went crazy for Indonesian players. I was having a hearty laugh and wondered where we had come from. Had we done anything to them?. I was like, I will show you all, what I am capable of. I felt no pressure, felt under control and had no worries. I would rate that as one of the best in the tournaments so far,” Satwiksairaj told ANI.
The star pair are in great form and continuously performing in grand events. Before Indonesia Open, they had also won the badminton Asia Championship title in the month of April. They were also crowned with the Swiss Open in March.
When asked about their expectation from the upcoming Asian Games, Satwiksairaj said,”I always feel that whoever keeps a lot of expectations about medals is not able to perform on big stages. I feel it is something really different. Me and Chirag will get to see and play with athletes from many countries there. It is nice to play in such games and we are looking forward to it. We are keeping no expectations and we are looking to enjoy our game there and see what goes on.”
Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur had congratulated India’s star men’s doubles badminton duo after winning the Indonesia Open title.
On Union Sports Minister Thakur’s appreciation, Satwiksairaj said “It feels really good. Wishes from them are always good. When you come back to the room and looked at your phone, it feels nice.” (ANI)