Satwik-Chirag to feature in select tournaments ahead of Paris Olympics 2024

Men’s doubles pair won India’s first-ever badminton gold at the Asian Games.

The year 2023 will go down as one of the most successful years for Indian badminton, thanks to the phenomenal performance of the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. The duo fondly called “brothers of destruction” not only won three BWF titles, including the prestigious Indonesia Open Super 1000, but also clinched the gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games, becoming the first Indian pair to do so in badminton.

Their achievements were duly recognized by the sports ministry, which conferred them with the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, India’s highest sporting honour.

Since 2016, Satwik and Chirag have become a powerful team on the court, balancing each other’s abilities and compensating for each other’s flaws. They have also forged a close friendship off the court, which shows in their harmony and cooperation. After finishing 2023 with a strong medal haul, the duo are clearly aiming for 2024, which is also the year of the Paris Olympics.

In an interview with the Times of India, the duo expressed their happiness and gratitude for 2023 and also shared their goals for the upcoming year. “2023 has been a great year for us, but it is important to keep ourselves fresh and fit. Going into 2024, the Olympics is the biggest target for us. That said, there are other competitions that we have not won yet, like the All England. Hopefully 2024 will be another great year,” said Chirag Shetty.

They are second right now in the road to Paris Olympics, and very likely to secure a spot. This means they can select the tournaments they want to participate in until the Olympic qualification period closes on April 28th. This way, they can stay in good shape for the Olympics.

“Our main aim is to give our best in the competitions that we decide to compete in and ensure that we do not play a lot of tournaments. We want to decide on the events accordingly. We do not want to play 3-4 back-to-back tournaments,” pointed out Chirag.

Satwik opened up on the tough nature of the Olympics, with all competing pairs having it in them to shine. “Olympics are different compared to other tournaments. It is not easy. The feeling is also different compared to tournaments like the Super Series. At the Olympics, there are no favourites. It is about 16 top pairs, and every team will give it its all. There will be no easy matches,” he said.

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