Watching Shawshank Redemption gave Chirag Shetty hope of rallying from back injury

On a particularly wretched day stuck at home, with chances of a scheduled return from a back injury fading, India’s terrific doubles shuttler, Chirag Shetty, returned to his favourite movie, Shawshank Redemption.Shetty didn’t pause at Morgan Freeman’s Red saying hope was a dangerous thing. He soaked in the complete struggle of Andy Dufresne, till actor Tim Robbins, declared “…hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things and no good thing ever dies.”
The last few months have squeezed Shetty and his doubles partner, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy dry, with grimness and tragedies. Olympics loss, patchy form, Satwik losing his father to a cardiac arrest, then felled chickenpox. And Shetty silently battling spasmic back pain episodes – a mix of pain and frustration for someone who believes in being “productive every day” and can’t sit still.
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So Shetty mined out the Shawshank script to deal with desolation. “I revisited Shawshank Redemption, my favourite.It just reminded me of Andy’s line on ‘hope’. To keep it for 20 long years. He didn’t rush to accomplish his escape in one day. He persed for 20 years. It’s about being slow and steady,” Shetty says. “In my case, it could be 2 years, not 20…”
At the core of this struggle of a former World No.1 and Asiad champion in a pathbreaking career for Indian doubles, is a stubborn back injury. “I’ve always had back issues which normally settle down. But it was quite bad this time. I didn’t understand why it was taking long,” he said.
It was driving him crazy, as he would think he was on the mend and suddenly the back would spasm again. “It’s tough to rationalise. I’m usually quite strong and come to terms with timelines. But this time it didn’t heal in time, a timeline got breached which wasn’t expected. You believe eventually things will get better, and then they don’t, I had to deal with that,” he adds.
The last time he spent this long away from competition was in 2016, when riding pillion he fell from a bike and broke his toe. This time the back injury struck at All England – first round at 11 points, shooting pain in the back, though the pairing plodded on until finally it became unbearable against the Chinese in the next round. Doctors drew out a 6 week rehab which started 4 days after his return — two nervy sessions a day which continue. “There’s been no break – break as such, like a family holiday to get over this because rehab is intensive.”Story continues below this ad
Back injuries can be severe emotional downward spirals, but the physical pain is no less a devil. Two weeks into rehab he was at a shoot where he couldn’t even hit the shuttle because a day before, the spine had acted up. “A day before suddenly I got a spasm as bad as All England. Sitting was difficult, getting up was tough. I would dread lying down because after 8 hours just to stand back was tough. Everything hurt. I wasn’t doing anything crazy or new but it could flare up just walking around, multiple times. Just couldn’t wrap my head around it.”
Bending hurt. Sitting was a pain. Lying down a torture.
He knows other athletes have suffered worse as injuries go, and it gives him motivation that if he keeps at it, there’s a way back. “If both of us are fit enough, we are sure of our calibre. We don’t want to rush. Once fit, getting our ranks and titles back will be no issue,” he says.
Satwik-Chirag recently received their Khel Ratna. Last time they were to be feted, it threw up tearful memories, as Satwik’s father enroute Delhi for the ceremony, passed away in Amalapuram. The duo were in the capital for a Petroleum Board tournament, and Shetty’s parents had reached already.Story continues below this ad
“It was supposed to be a memorable day, it turned out to be the worst day of our life. We were in two different hotel rooms when he called and told me he’s going back. I didn’t understand but when I realised we consoled him. He flew down that afternoon, me and my Dad attended the funeral and since he couldn’t train afterwards we all travelled to Amalapuram for a week and half before All England,” Shetty recalls.
Malaysian coach Tan Kim Her, 4 sparring partners, physio Ganesh all camped out in Satwik’s hometown, and later 7-8 of his friends travelled to Birmingham and didn’t leave his side knowing how draught he might’ve been. “It was brave of him to play All England. He’s a fighter, way too brave. I can’t imagine. That’s why even after I felt the back pain I wanted to continue. In normal circumstances I’d have conceded. But those were crazy, crazy circumstances. Next match I just couldn’t play though with the pain,” Shetty recalls.
Satwik braved a bout of chicken pox for three weeks in the middle if it all.
‘Unbearable pain’
But perhaps the biggest trauma for Shetty has been this forced break that drives him to gnashing frustration. “This sitting around, resting, doing nothing is taxing. I know it’ll take a while, it’s a phase. But my brain needs to have a goal, needs to see progress. Spending a month at home with unbearable pain, not knowing it would take this long, even watching TV is painful,” he says, adding he didn’t watch the Sudirman Cup debacle.Story continues below this ad
His family and friends had been telling him wisely that eventually it will get better. But it wasn’t until he watched Shawshank Redemption in a different light, that he realised that sometimes even hope takes a year, or two, or 20. It’s in these depths of desolation that hope made the most sense to Shetty.