CHENNAI: After over two years of misfortunes and near-misses, the duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are finally reaping the rewards of their perseverance and hard work. Just a day after ending their title drought at the Singapore Open, there's a sense of relief and spark as they speak. In a virtual interaction facilitated by Badminton Association of India (BAI), they reflected on their successful campaign on also spoke about the adjustments they have made that has helped them get back to winning ways. Excerpts...
On winning the Singapore Open & ending title drought in the process
Chirag: The last week was really special. It had been two years since we last won a title so that makes it even more special, to be winning a title, especially in a tournament like Singapore where historically, we haven't done well. We played some really good badminton last week.
Satwik: We had a tough start to the week. We were not in a good position. It was rough and patchy, starting with Day 1 where we played three games against USA. Then we played three games against Chinese Taipei and we played three games in the quarterfinals. It was tough from Day 1 itself, because of the drift and the conditions. We gradually gained confidence, match-by-match, and we ended up winning. We are really grateful for how things have gone by.
On game plan during the final
Satwik: I felt we were playing the right game plan. It was just a matter of one, two points. We were leading 18-17 in the opener and ended up losing 21-18. There was confidence (despite going behind)... We were willing to accept if we lost, but we wanted to give everything. That way we were pretty much calm (second game). Even if we were down, we wanted to give that fightback. We had fought like that from the first match itself, we were down most of the matches. Even in the semis, we were down at one point. We just got that confidence that we can pull things back. We just wanted to keep the body language intact and show them that we're not here to lose, we are here to show everything and see what will happen (...). We just needed to up the quality a bit more.
On Mathias Boe's inputs (he has rejoined the Indian pair as consultant)
Chirag: It's been a month since he has been helping us remotely, especially with match analysis, before and after the matches. All four (Satwik, Chirag, Boe and Tan Kim Her) sit together usually before matches and see what work and what doesn't. We sort of brainstorm and see what are the areas we need to attack and what the game plan should be. It's been going good so I'm really happy.
On flat exchanges, spin serve and how coach Tan has helped them adjust to those challenges
Satwik: We know what the opponents are coming up with. All the Indonesians and Malaysians started doing the spin serve, it became a little bit of a game plan against us. Everybody started doing the same against us. We weren't really able to get that advantage while receiving. We started to tackle those services during the practice sessions. Tan has been there for a long time. It took us time for us to adapt from Boe to Tan, the way he thinks etc. But it's almost similar, practice and serve game ideas. We have been working really hard and we just needed that one win. Tan has been pushing us really hard in the training session. We had been practising on Sundays as well. The inputs have become simple nowadays, just focusing on one to four strokes. You plan, communicate what you're doing to the partner and the partner should cover. In crucial situations, that has helped me a lot.
On what they have learnt in the last two years or so
Satwik: Being patient. In the last two years we have been very disappointed that we had many chances to win the tournament but it didn't happen, it didn't click. Don't want to make it an excuse but every time you see in the last two years, we had an injury, then we were chasing, then we were at the right time and again we had some issue. That had become a theme in the last one and a half years or so. In terms of mental aspect also, we were down as well while other players were picking up and the competition has become so tough. It was not as easy as before (...). In the last two years, we have become much more patient. It's not like we can always keep winning. In 2023, we used to dominate but then again, the game has changed a great deal. In the past two years, we know that we gave our 100 per cent.
On World No 1 pair Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae — a pair they beat in the semis in Singapore — and adapting to different styles of play
Chirag: Kim and Seo have been playing really well and had been on a winning streak. They are definitely a pair to beat. Apart from them, Aaron (Chia) and Soh (Wooi Yik), Fajar (Alfian) and Fikri (Muhammad), who we played in the finals, and plenty of others. There are three, four Malyasians and three, four Indonesians. Everybody has their own style of play and before every match, we have to prepare accordingly (...). Chinese players have their own style, Koreans have their own. For each match, we have to prepare accordingly.
On injuries, something that had played a part during the barren run
Chirag: Injuries is part and parcel of the game. You can't avoid it but you can manage it. That's what we have been doing. Both of us have faced injuries over the past two years but what has stuck is we have always had each others' back and we always said that 'take how much ever time you want and just keep believing in yourself' because once we're fitter, the results will eventually come. Our aim was to be fully fit and focus on the results. And that's what we have been doing (...).
