My Diary 2024: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy – ‘Paris defeat is very personal… handling things wasn’t easy at that point’ | Badminton News

As a hectic year of sports gallops to the finish line, India’s top athletes pause and reflect; tell the stories of their podium highs, battered bodies and shattered dreams. In a special series, some look back with fondness, a few others with regrets. But all with the hope – and wish – of a better 2025.
As far as life-changing years ago, 2024 will be right up there for me.
We dedicate our lives to doing well at the Olympics, but it’s life after that is very hectic. Mentally, it will take a lot of time to digest things. This one, the quarterfinal defeat at the Paris Olympics, is very personal.
The Olympics were the main goal this year. The build-up was good. We started the year reaching two finals, in Malaysia and India; then we won the French Open. It was all going good until suddenly, out of nowhere I had a back injury, from nowhere I had an elbow tear…
Now, I usually play with a lot of pain. So, I thought, ‘It’s okay, this is normal’. Even in Paris, it was pretty cool. I had my main pillars there. My brother was there to support me. When he is around, I feel very comfortable. I have someone to talk to, someone who can deal with things, tell me how to manage when things are not going well… He had booked an apartment very close to the stadium so after matches, I used to go there, he’d cook a meal and we’d just sit down, have a good lunch, and a good laugh.
India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty during the the men’s doubles group stage badminton match against France’s Corvee Lucas and Labar Ronan. (Agencies)
We felt good heading to the quarterfinals against Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik. We told each other there’s no need to panic. The first game went well, but then things started to turn around. In matches, such things do happen but looking back, I had only one month of good practice, was dealing with injuries and felt a little out. I was frustrated with myself that everything was happening at the wrong time.
Before the Olympics, I had taken a shot on my back. But not being 100 per cent fit physically must have affected my partner as well. He had to cover for me and that situation may have kept him under pressure.
From Paris, I returned to Hyderabad for some time. Then, my parents called me to our hometown. I didn’t feel like going there, but I went. From there I went to Araku for some sightseeing. A few days later, I was back in Hyderabad.
It wasn’t like that for Chirag. Two weeks after the Olympics, he was in Hyderabad, ready to go. But handling things wasn’t pretty good at that point.
Asian Games Gold Medall Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty won against Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia in the semifinals at Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2024 at IG Stadium, New Delhi on Saturday. (Express photo Praveen Khanna)
I wanted time off but Chirag wanted to play tournaments. Then, coach (Mathias Boe) wasn’t there. Our trainer had left, too. Chirag and I sat down and talked; we were doing everything without the coach – planning tournaments, protecting our ranking… It was a little tough at that time. We were blank at one point as to what to do. Personally, it took me a while to start again from zero.
It was during this period I realised the value of doubles badminton. You are teammates not just on the court, but off it too.
Chirag supported me and motivated me to play. He stood my side like a rock and obviously Dinesh, from Go Sports, too. My backbone. These people ensured I was on the right track when so many thoughts were going on in my mind. There was the pain of the Olympics, the pain due to injuries…
Chirag and I hadn’t been through such a phase since we started playing as a pair. As I was going through rehab, he was back on the court practising full-on. He took the lead and began talking to all the physios on my behalf. He was very keen to understand why the injuries were recurring. He was talking with all the doctors, too.
Chirag talked to physios, sorted our tickets, planned tournaments… he managed everything. We normally do this, but he did it with extra care that time. I know it wasn’t easy for him, too. Yet, he was there doing all those things and taking care of me.
India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty play against Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto during their men’s doubles badminton group stage match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
I have started to take this more seriously, too – to take care of my body; how to recover after a match, what are the precautions, how other players are doing, what is affecting me, and changing my body shape a little, maybe. I can be a little more agile.
This is going to be my main goal next year. I want to understand how my body works. In that sense, I think 2025 will be an experimental year for me – I am now thinking long-term; not even 2028, maybe, 2032! After this year, I want to be able to play without any injuries.
I have started with a new trainer; coach Tan (Kim Her) also joined us. I am working more on the mental part and collaborated with a nutrition as well. So, a little bit more like a professional athlete. We were professional earlier too, but a little bit more professional athlete, if that makes sense.
Of course, the usual major tournaments are on our minds next year. But from now, I will enter them with no expectations. I simply want to go there and enjoy.
– As told to Mihir Vasavda
Looking forward to 2025
2024 was an enforced sobering when Satwik-Chirag could have done with their giddy, heady run of successes of the previous two seasons. But they can take hope from a compatriot – PV Sindhu, whose 2017 and 2018 World Championship silvers, lessons from lost finals actually forged the gold of 2019. For Satwik-Chirag, 2025 will be the first step of repairing their game, fixing the gaps, strengthening the weak muscles and unlearning old tactics. Their game has some very apparent deficiencies in specific match-ups, which need a renewed approach. Their skillset and ability to work hard, though, is tremendous and will help in this tricky phase. A great challenge could be dealing with the new pairings bolting out of Chinese Taipei, Korean and Indonesian stables. Key Dates: All England (11-16 March), World Championships, Paris (25-31 August).

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