CHENNAI: The duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty has, by and large, been on song in 2022. Three title wins over elite opponents and at least reaching the quarterfinals in all but two events this year. Yet, what happens over the nine days or so will likely shape the perception of their season.
Coach Mathias Boe is mindful of that. While he calls the preparation ‘not ideal’ “coming in from a tournament after being in the UK for two weeks” the next few sessions will be dedicated to getting used to the conditions on offer in Tokyo. “I know all the players in and out so that’s not required (looking at the strengths and weaknesses of the opponents ),” he says.
“It’s just some finetuning and my job is to watch a few videos and see... I will take care of that for them. More like getting over the jet lag, getting used to the different courts and all these things. What’s the drift going to be? We will use our sessions to adjust to these new facilities and memorise the things we need to do.” While the draw is not exactly straightforward Rankireddy and Shetty could run into 2016 silver-medallists Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong Boe, who won two Worlds medals in his playing time, is confident.
“I have seen the draw, first match should be okay. Then we have a strong silver medallist from Rio Games but they don’t play together anymore. But we never underestimate anyone and we need to try and play at our best.”
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