Indian shuttler Chirag Shetty, part of the popular men’s doubles duo with Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, popularly known as ‘Sath-Chi’, has spoken out about his disappointing quarter-final exit at the 2024 Paris Olympics and revealed the duo’s comeback plans on the court. . Even though the knockout stage started on a dominant note, Satwik and Chirag’s hopes of returning to India with an Olympic medal were ultimately dashed. With a 21-13, 14-21, 16-21 defeat, Satwik and Chirag were eliminated from the Paris Olympics back in August.
Speaking to ANI, Chirag said the quarter-final exit was “disappointing” and that some “bad moments and missed opportunities” in the third game played a decisive role. He also expressed hope that the duo will win a medal for the country at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“Very disappointed that we couldn’t come back with a medal. We really wanted to go out there and win a medal for our country. In the third game things didn’t go the way we wanted. At some point we were in the lead, but there were some bad moments. and some missed opportunities led to us losing this game. We gave it our all. Maybe next time we will come with a medal,” Chirag said.
Chirag was speaking on the sidelines of the ‘Beyond the Finish Line’ event of the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon.
Schattler said that while the immediate reaction of fans, colleagues and loved ones to the Olympic defeat was to express disappointment, it was their close friends and family who supported and encouraged Chirag and Satwiksairaj to give themselves a “second chance”.
“Everyone was just as disappointed as we were. Our close friends and family were supportive and told us that there is always a second chance, so keep trying. We returned to the court hungrier than ever,” said the 27-year-old. .
Talking about his comeback plans, Chirag expressed hope that he and Satwiksairaj will be back in action next month, with the latter currently undergoing rehabilitation from an injury.
“Hopefully next month. My partner Satwiksairaj was injured. “He is undergoing rehabilitation and preparing,” he said.
Talking about his and Satwiksairaj’s relationship with former coach Mathias Boe, who announced his retirement following the duo’s Olympic exit, Chirag said he has been a “phenomenal supporter” of the duo and has radically changed their style of play.
“When we started working with him, we were ranked eighth or ninth in the world. The path from there to first place, winning gold at the Asian Games and the Thomas Cup was a very fruitful journey. It’s a shame we couldn’t continue our partnership, but things have to end eventually,” he added.
During Bo’s coaching tenure, which began in 2021, “Sat-Chi,” as the duo is known, have become the dominant pairing.
They have won multiple Badminton World Tour (BWF) titles, gold medals at the Asian Games (2023) and Commonwealth Games (2022), first Thomas Cup title (2022), bronze at the World Championships (2022) and gold at the Asian Championships. (2023).
The Asian Games gold medal was India’s first medal in the history of the games. The bronze medal at the World Championships was the first medal for an Indian men’s doubles duo at the tournament. They also became the first Indian men’s pair to be ranked number one in the BWF rankings and secure the BWF Super 1000 title by winning the Indonesia Open last year.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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