Picture Credit: Twitter
Indian men’s doubles pair Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy have achieved a career-best world rank 2 following their victory at the Korea Open. The latest Badminton World Federation rankings confirmed their spot and they dethroned the Chinese duo of Liang Wai Keng and Wang Cheng, who lost to the Indian pair during the semi-finals of the Korean Open. The Indian pair, however, still trail No. 1 ranked duo from Indonesia Alfian Fajar and Ardianto Muhammad Rian despite beating them in the final of the Korea Open 2023.
In the match against the Indonesian ranked 1 duo, the Indian pair pulled off a remarkable victory, winning 7-21, 21-13, 21-14. Shetty and Rankireddy have also won two other BWF titles, the Indonesia Open and the Swiss Open. They are in dominant form this year, winning ten matches in a row and going unbeaten in all finals. Rankireddy said that his partnership with Shetty was successful because the two players were often on the same wavelength and compared their duo to that of tennis legends Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
He said, “We think alike. While playing on the court, we think in the same mindset. It is a mix of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Chirag is more aggressive, while I am always in my zone, staying focused on one point at a time. We are most aggressive during the game, around 90% of the time. We always aim to attack and take control of the match. I feel like we are two bodies with one soul when we play well together.”
Additionally, HS Prannoy is the only Indian in the men's and women's singles to take a place in the top 10.
Shetty and Rankireddy beat Indonesian pair in round 1 of Japan Open 2023
The Japan Open round of 32 kicks off tomorrow, on July 27th at 6:30 am IST. The Indian pair will be facing Denmark’s Jeppe Bay and Moelhede Lasse, who are ranked 33rd in the world.
Rankireddy and Shetty have had a winning start to the Tokyo-based tournament. The duo beat unseeded Indonesian pair Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin 21-16, 11-21, 21-13. If they repeat their remarkable performance of the Korea Open and win the Japan Open then they will move up to becoming world ranked 1.
