Just starting: Chirag mentioned that there are numerous extra tournaments to be gained.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy not too long ago went to the highest of the badminton males’s doubles world rankings. But it’s not time to relaxation on laurels but.
On the sidelines of the Bengaluru Badminton Cup 2024 hosted by Nippon Paint right here, Chirag defined that gaining the standing of the world’s finest does not distract from the larger objective. “What separates us from doubles players from the past is that we are never really satisfied. People say ‘you are the World No. 1 – the pinnacle of the sport’, but our hunger to win tournaments has not died. We still feel like we have just started playing on the circuit and there are many more tournaments to be won.”
Chirag said that the appointment of Denmark’s Mathias Boe as their coach has come as a boon. “We have improved our defence quite a bit since the inclusion of Mathias. His inclusion was the game changer for us,” Chirag mentioned.
Silencing a partisan house crowd when enjoying exterior India offers Chirag quite a lot of satisfaction. “The most hostile crowds are in China and Indonesia. When we won the Indonesia Open, we beat the then World No. 1 and home favourites Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto in the quarterfinals. It was a packed stadium and we could barely hear anything. It gives you a different level of high when you are able to make the crowd go silent in their own backyard,” the 26-year-old mentioned.