Former National men’s doubles winners Sanjay Sharma (with Pradeep Gandhe,1978) and Uday Pawar (with Vinod Kumar, 1990) are thrilled at Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s splendid title win at the Thailand Open.
Pawar said the young Indian pair’s historical win was “path-breaking’’ and Sanjay predicted the duo will gatecrash into the Top 10 in World ranking and called them medal hopes at the World Championships in Switzerland this month and at next year’s Tokyo Olympics.
Pawar, who has played a big part in coaching and mentoring Chirag and on occasions Satwik said, “men’s doubles has changed a lot. It has become faster and more aggressive. Both, Satwik and Chirag are tall players and aggressive. This (Thailand Open) is the third tournament they have played well after Indonesia and Japan. They are getting better with every tournament.
“They are not overawed by the occasion and opponents. The consistency they have shown at their age is an indicator that they have the potential to be the World No. 1 in the coming years. Both have been playing only doubles for six or seven years.’’
“It’s not a fluke win or one that has come out of the blue,’’ averred Pawar. “They have been performing well in the last two years. The Indonesian coaches have made quite a difference. I must say that foreign coaches have better training methods; what the Indians have is high skill sets and good in tactics. As a combination they gel well.’’
Good news
Sanjay felt Satwik and Chirag’s good showing has once again put India on the World map. “They are a very young pair, and so they have a lot of badminton in them. This being the Olympic qualifying year they have a very strong chance.
“They are in good nick and have to maintain their consistency leading up to the Olympics which is not difficult now because they have beaten the World No. 2 pair. After a long time Indian badminton has got a good news.’’
When asked if the focus will be on men’s doubles, Sanjay said: “It’s singles all the way, but now there is a ray of hope in doubles.
“When Saina Nehwal came through, the others came through. Now Satwik and Chirag have raised the bar and the youngsters would like to emulate them. They will not only be the pair to follow, but the pair to beat.”
