Satwiksairaj Rankireddy offered partner Chirag Shetty a fist bump and embrace after defeating Malaysians Man Wei Chong and Kai Wun Tee 23-21, 19-21, 21-16 in the first round of the $950,000 India Open here on Tuesday before dashing over to shake hands with a familiar figure in his coach’s corner. Tan Kim Her was ecstatic to see his kids advance to the second round of the Super 750 event.
They defeated difficult opponents he knew well. It was about a decade ago when the well-known Malaysian coach decided to pair Rankireddy and Shetty against their desires. Tan had read the two shuttlers’ playing styles well enough to predict that they would click. Though they struggled at first, what transpired next propelled Indian men’s doubles badminton to the top tier of the sport. They became the world’s top-ranked Indian pair in all three categories.
They were the first men’s doubles pair to medal at the World Championships. The combination became the first Indian men’s doubles pair to win gold at both the Asian and Commonwealth Games, in addition to winning many premier tournaments on the BWF World Tour. After Tan left, the duo thrived even more under Mathias Boe. However, after the Dane departed during the Paris Olympics.
Satwik-Chirag Reclaiming Lost Glory
Tan was called back by the Badminton Association of India (BAI), reuniting him with Satwik-Chirag had originally brought together. The world No.9 pair has already competed in one tournament under Tan, the Malaysia Open last week, where they reached the semi-finals. They hope to go the distance here, repeating their 2022 campaign in which they won the India Open under the tutelage of their 53-year-old coach.
After a month together, the changes are already obvious, with their defensive abilities kicking in on Tuesday at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, which is extremely comparable to the ways of Malaysian coaches or players that thrive at defense. Shetty said It is great to have Tan coach back after six years. A lot of credit goes to him for all our achievements so far. We were youngsters back then.
