Watch: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy hits 500 kmph smash in Korea Open 2023

His shot is also now the fastest smash in the ongoing tournament.

Asian champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty progressed through to the semi-finals of Korea Open 2023 by beating Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi in straight games (21-14, 21-17). Satwiksairaj Rankireddy apart from qualifying to the semis, scripted a new feat after hitting the fastest smash in the Korea Open - 500 kmph.

At 12-6, Satwik received a high shuttle from the Japanese opponent and in a smooth motion, the shuttler from Amalapuram, recorded the fastest smash. Indian shuttlers for the past few weeks have shown good strength and power through smashes. Lakshya Sen, 21, recently smashed the shuttle at 417 kmph during the final of the Canada Open 2023.

Earlier this week, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy entered the Guinness Book of World Records for hitting the fastest smash in badminton (male or female) - 565 kmph at Yonex Centre in Japan under a controlled environment. Satwik over the years has improved steadily as a player apart from just relying on his smashes. He has started to play sensibly when close to the net and as always, his strength lies in the smashes along with placements.

Fondly called SatChi, Satwiksairaj and Chirag Shetty started their journey in 2017 and within a years' time played a crucial role in earning India a historic gold medal in the Mixed Team event at the Commonwealth Games 2018. They went on to win their maiden BWF title in Hyderabad post the Commonwealth Games.

In the following year they became the first Indian doubles pair to win a BWF Superseries or BWF World Tour (Super 500+) title, when they won the Thailand Open.

Since then, the pair has gone on to achieve massive success and recently this year won their maiden title at the Asian Championships and followed it up with a maiden BWF 1000 title win at the Indonesia Open.