Olympics remain the ultimate goal for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty

Bengaluru: India’s leading badminton doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty gave Indian fans a lot to cheer about following their epic win at the Singapore Open on Sunday.

The victory, where they rallied to beat Indonesian No. 3 Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri over three games in the final, ended the World No. 4 pair’s two-year title drought which saw the duo struggle with respective injuries since their Paris Olympics’ debacle.

However, the writing was on the wall for a while now as the duo reached the finals of the Thailand Open last week after winning the bronze medal with the Indian team at the Thomas Cup in Denmark. The pair certainly seems to have found their mojo back at the right time with their Asian Games and Commonwealth Games on the line later this year.

“Yeah, it’s pretty much important win for us,” said 25-year-old Satwik during a virtual press conference. “Beating top players and winning the tournament, I was waiting for this chance as we were disappointed after the Thailand Open because we had a chance there.”

His 28-year-old partner, however, feels they never actually lost their touch, adding that their progress was halted by injuries but they never became inconsistent.

“I wouldn’t call it inconsistency. I think we, on the contrary, were quite consistent to be called No. 3 in the world. By that notion, everybody else beyond No. 1 should stop playing badminton,” said Chirag while speaking to the media at a virtual press conference.

“I think we’ve played three finals and we’ve been out of tournaments for more than six months in those two years. Not even six months where we’ve not played a tournament.”

Chirag further added that Olympic success remains the ultimate goal, while they desire to do well at each and every major event they participate in.

“We want to win in every single tournament and every major event there is. We want to medal at each and every major event and like for any athlete, I think the Olympics is the ultimate goal and likewise for us,” said Chirag.

However, the shuttler didn’t clarify if he makes to the LA Olympics 2028, he will do so with his existing partner.

“Right now, nothing is confirmed as of yet. Things are still like we’ve started working, but it’s not on paper as of yet,” said Chirag.

“Currently, I think it’s too early to say anything, but I think right now it’s going good. So, yeah, fingers crossed. Let’s see how it goes.”