Despite 0-5 record, Satwik-Chirag upbeat about Malaysian challenge

The reason why Indian badminton circles are buzzing with a whiff of a World title final this weekend, is how Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have warmed up to Tokyo. The remarkable Indians, only just hitting their prime, have actually lost five times to Malaysian semifinal opponents Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi-Yik, without ever winning any match in return.
But a combination of prevailing conditions – slow-ish shuttles and the Malaysians’ own demons associated with semifinals have led to the bubbling belief that Saturday could be the much-anticipated reversal. A turnaround where not only do Satwik-Chirag upturn the 0-5 head-to-head score, but also avenge their defeat in the team event at the Commonwealth Games. But also where Indian doubles itself takes off into the stratosphere, which can only happen with a World title final.
Satwik-Chirag are Thomas Cup champions, they’ve won a bit on the circuit too. But singles triumphs routinely overshadow their pathbreaking achievements, be it CWG gold or India Open title. They are adored India’s badminton faithful for their talent and exciting style of play. At the Worlds, they are craving the sort of magical reverence Leander Paes-Mahesh Bhupathi achieved in 1999 – winning the biggest summer titles of tennis at the French Open and Wimbledon.
Satwik pioneered a piggyback, instead of Indian tennis’ chest bump, when the medal was assured. But now, the shuttle duo needs a date with the Sunday final. And a scythe at the 0-5 unflattering hory.
So, here’s how it might actually happen.

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Aaron-Soh have a fast-paced, power game with a formidable defence. In short, the Malaysians like to rush their opponents, crowd them with speed. The laidback shuttle – though Friday got faster on the middle two courts – aids the Indian game better, based as it is on strokes – angles, length, variations, the works – rather than raining down smashes.
The Indian defence isn’t too shab, but the slower conditions will give them that extra second to get composed and react as the shuttle travels back a little less like a rocket. It opens up the game for the Indians, who dictated play in totality in the decider on Friday against the Japanese defending champions – similarly blitzy.
So, while the Malaysians can’t help hunting the shuttle, to smother it, Indians will work the bird with this luxury of micro-seconds in defence, and variety in their own attacking options. Chirag would do well to recall the loss against the same Malaysians at the CWG, where he allowed excitable nerves to be seduced into trying to out-hit the hit-happy Aaron-Soh.
To his credit, Chirag checked himself immediately, cut down on erratic striking for cheap points and has been a picture of calm at Tokyo. He’s trusted Satwik to hold his end of the bargain, not been impatient, and done more than the heavy lifting in defence.
“If opponents see that Indians are enjoying themselves, then half their fight will be broken,” reckons India’s doubles Olympian Sumeeth Reddy, who senses a chunky medal coming the doubles way, better than the assured bronze. “Their confidence makes them very intimidating to face,” he notes.

Cause for optimism
What’s perhaps got Indians rubbing hands in anticipation is how the Indians stack up against Aaron-Soh in big occasion matches. The Malaysian long yearning for a title in singles continues. But Aaron-Soh carry an additional weakness of having never gone onto seal a big title, despite hitting the high notes in 2018.
To be sure, Aaron-Soh are Tokyo Olympics bronze medalls. But they spectacularly faltered in the CWG individual semis, settling for bronze to great rancour back home, and don a millstone of botched five semis in tournaments this year. They are yet to win an Open title, and it’s an area where Satwik-Chirag hold the edge – they embrace the big fight, and have a mean smashing game to kill off shuttles and not crumble under the weight of expectations.
The Malaysians had spoken earlier of a poor start to the Worlds and adjustment woes, looking to go back to simpler times of the 2018 Nanjing Worlds when they weren’t coming undone under pressure of getting Malaysia its ever-elusive medal. Badminton’s like Indian cricket in Malaysia, and the questions on their temperament have hounded them all the way, though they looked calm in their commanding win against the Koreans in the quarters.
“That Malaysian mental block makes it interesting,” Reddy says. Think South Africa and World Cup semis, that’s how dire the burden has become for the Malaysians.
The Indians have been relentless – not content with semis; they have voiced their appetite for gold. The Thomas Cup set high standards where a bronze – even their maiden one – might not satiate them enough. “Satwik and Chirag are great unassuming guys. They’ll put their heads down and work towards the bigger medal,” Reddy assures.
India’s former Malaysian and Indonesian coaches put Satwik-Chirag through some pretty disciplined physical workouts, and the duo factored in the peaking for the Worlds even as they were playing easier matches for the CWG gold. Knowing that the bigger gold was three weeks away was the key. From 4.5 hours behind to 3.5 hours ahead, Birmingham to Tokyo, Satwik-Chirag’s massive strides have made an impact in every time zone with CWG celebrations put at bay till this one was nailed. A 0-5 past might well be rendered redundant on Saturday for the one semifinal that matters.