Returning from an injury lay-off, India’s leading doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy is eyeing a consistent run to break into the top-5 and seal a spot for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The duo had broken into the top-10 last month after its historic feat of becoming the first Indian men’s doubles pair to win a BWF Super 500 title at the Thailand Open.
However, both Chirag and Satwik ended up with injuries during the tournament and had to skip the prestigious World Championship in Basel, Switzerland.
Rankings slip
While Chirag suffered an abdominal muscle injury, Satwik aggravated a right-shoulder injury and the time away from the circuit affected the pair’s ranking as it slipped to World No. 15.
Now back to full fitness having undergone a rigorous training schedule, the duo is looking to go all out at the $1,000,000 China Open starting on Tuesday.
“We are completely fit now. We will go full throttle and hope to do well in China and Korea. We had lost in the first round in China last year, so we will look to go deep into the draw. It is a Super 1000 event and will help our ranking,” Chirag said.
“We need to be consistent. We will look to end the year in the top-10 and then from January to April next year, if we can play a couple of quarters or semifinals, we will be in the top-5 and be able to comfortably seal our berth for the Tokyo Olympics.
“It will be difficult to maintain the ranking points. But the good thing is we don’t have to defend it any ranking points early next year because we didn’t play from January to April this year,” said the 22-year-old.
Gearing up
Asked about their preparation for the events in China and Korea, Chirag said: “We had full-fledged practice sessions for the China Open. We focused on running and agility in the first week and then in the next two weeks, it was more of on-court training.
“We have been varying our shots, mixing our smashes, half-smashes and drops to have a multi-dimensional game.”
Chirag and Satwik will face Canada’s Jason Anthony Ho-Shue and Nyl Yakura in the opening round at th China Open.
“We are playing a Canadian pair. Satwik and I haven’t played them though I had faced them at the Swiss Open with Pranaav Jerry Chopra. So that experience will count. I know we are coming back from an injury, but there is no pressure,” Chirag added.