TOKYO: The life of a sportsperson can be harsh. Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy found out the hard way at the mother of all events: the Olympics.
In their first Games, the duo did what they could. They won two matches out of three, beating more-fancied opponents in the process.
That process included posting a straight-game (21-17, 21-19) victory against Ben Lane and Sean Vendy of Great Britain in their Group A encounter on Tuesday.
But that turned out to be their last match. Before they entered the court to play their third match, their fate had been sealed as the other match in the group had put them out of the equation.
Chinese Taipei’s Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin, whom Indians had shocked in the opening match, pulled off a big win, beating the World No 1 pair of Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo of Indonesia.
That meant three teams were locked on two points. The Indians missed out after the number of games won was taken it consideration.
The top two, who advanced to the knockouts, had pocketed a total of five games each while the Indians had won four.
Monday’s straight-games setback against the Indonesian pair had been a tough lesson for Satwik and Chirag. That eventually proved to be the difference-maker. Chirag was understandably emotional.
“We knew the moment Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin won, we didn’t stand a chance. They won in two games and we won in three. It’s quite sad. Even after winning two matches in the group, we don’t go through. But that is badminton and we have to live with it,” the 24-year-old said.
Though disappointed, Satwik put up a brave face and said that they’ll look to build on this experience.
“Because of that, we went into it thinking this was going to be our last game in the Olympics. So we weren’t under pressure. We kept it simple. But it was disappointing to see the Indonesians lose (just before we went on). I feel that we have learnt so much from this experience and there are a lot of positives to take home,” the 20-year-old said.
The youngsters are not the first from the country to suffer this heartbreak.
Nine years ago, Ashwini Ponnappa and Jwala Gutta had missed out after being level on points on with two other teams in the group stage.
They had exited after in-points won over the matches was taken into account.
It’s a hard truth to accept for the Satwik and Chirag pair, but the good news is that they have age on their side.
Having given a good account of themselves doing what they love, they can return home with their heads held high.