‘Satwik-Chirag are favourites for Olympic medal’: Gopichand

A shirtless Chirag Shetty on court, celebrating an international title is becoming a common sight, and India's badminton aficionados will be hoping that continues at least till next year's Paris Olympics, if not longer. Incidentally, chief national coach Pullela Gopichand believes that's a certainty, after Chirag and his partner Satwiksairaj Rankireddy stunned world champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia in straight games, 21-17, 21-18 in the final of the Indonesia Open in Jakarta on Sunday.

‘Fine win at special venue'

"The Indonesia Open is a big win on the Tour. It's special to win in that atmosphere at such a great venue [the Istora Senayan is an iconic venue for badminton, almost like what Wimbledon is to tennis or Lord's is to cricket]. This title ranks right up there with a World Championship medal or an All England Open Championships or a China Open title, all of which are among the toughest. Undoubtedly, Satwik and Chirag will now be favourites in whichever tournament they enter, be it the Asian Games later this year or next year's Paris Olympics," Gopichand told mid-day. This is the first Super 1000 title for Satwik and Chirag, also making them the first Indian pair to win in this prestigious category.

Also Read: Indonesia Open 2023: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty script history with maiden Super 1000 title

Giant-killing spree

The World No. 6 pair, who won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, a bronze at the World Championship and clinched an epic Thomas Cup win, emerged giant-killers in Jakarta. They first conquered the World No. 1 Indonesian pair of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Adrianto 21-13, 21-13 in the quarter-finals and then rallied to a 17-21, 21-19, 21-18 victory over Korea's World No. 2 partnership of Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae in the semis.

Physio Kiran Challagundla (extreme left), chief national coach P Gopichand, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, trainer Ganesh Acharya (second from right) and doubles coach Mathias Boe. Pic/BAI

It's this grit that has impressed Gopichand, himself a winner of the prestigious All England Open in 2001. "Satwik and Chirag have lost to Aaron and Soh many times in the past, but this time they used that experience to beat the Malaysians in straight games and that's commendable. Their semi-final was also a tough one which they fought back to win in three games against a top Korean pair. With so little to differentiate between the top doubles teams in the world currently, it all boils down to playing well on the day. Satwik and Chirag have been incredible throughout this tournament," said Gopichand.

The after-effects of this achievement will inevitably trickle down to the younger generation, felt the highly-acclaimed Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan award-winning coach. "Satwik and Chirag are a huge inspiration to a generation of doubles players in India. I'm sure, just like them, we will see many more world-class doubles players emerging from the country," said Gopichand, whose daughter Gayatri and her women's doubles partner Treesa Jolly have enjoyed a mercurial rise on the international circuit.

Pressure factor

With success, however, comes pressure, and Gopichand is of the opinion that the ability to handle this will determine the longevity of Satwik and Chirag: "While Satwik and Chirag will be bag the favourites tag wherever they go, they also have to live with the pressure of expectations. They will be expected to win everything they take part in, so that's a scenario they have to handle. But for now, this win in an Olympic year augurs well for them and Indian badminton."

More than winning the title, we wanted to beat Aaron-Soh: Chirag

Jakarta: India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty on Sunday said they were delighted that the historic title triumph at the Indonesia Open came against their nemesis, Malaysian world champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik. Before their men's doubles final, the Indian pair had a record of 0-8 against the Malaysian duo. In the summit clash that lasted for 43 minutes, the Indians prevailed 21-17, 21-18. The World No. 6 pair of Rankireddy and Shetty finally managed to not only end their losing streak, but also put an end to their disappointing recent run.

Satwiksairaj told the media after their win, "More than winning the tournament, beating them is one of the highs. When we play [them] next time, we will play all-in again. Chirag echoed his partner's sentiments and said, "More than winning the tournament, beating Aaron and Soh was what we truly wanted to do because we have come close to beating them, but them somehow held ourselves back a bit. But this time we reached up to the plan and it paid huge dividends."