BWF World Championship 2023 Highlights: HS Prannoy defeats Viktor Axelsen, Satwik-Chirag crash out | Badminton News

Belligerent Chirag dictates play as India’s top doubles pair inches closer to pinnacle
Satwik and Chirag in action. (FILE)
There’s a line in Avengers where Steve Rogers asks Loki: “What’s the matter, scared of a little lightning?” And the lord of mischief squirms: “I’m not overly fond of what follows.” Opponents of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have been experiencing Loki’s discomfiting wriggle quite a bit this season.
Satwik’s lightning hammer of a racquet Mjolnir may or may not hit the target on the court, but the follow-up to his attack is invariably Chirag’s power play from the front of the net, like coming face to face with a booming Thor. In fact, like in the pre-quarters against Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin at the Copenhagen World Championships, beware of a rare Satwik make, for it almost always heralds a scything response from Chirag the immediate next point. The retort to conceding a point, be it an error from his own racquet or Satwik’s, is angry yet always accurate. (Read more from our senior writer Shivani Naik)