It is a big win for us at BWF World Championships 2022: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy. Pic/AP, PTI

Ecstatic after winning a maiden World Championships medal, India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy on Friday said the season has been a “dream” for him and his doubles partner Chirag Shetty and the two would look to finish the tournament on a “big” note here.

The World No.7 pair has been simply sensational this year, claiming a super 500 India Open title in January before fashioning India’s epic win in Thomas Cup and then winning a maiden Commonwealth Games gold earlier this month. “It has been a dream for us, starting with the India Open, the Thomas Cup and then the Commonwealth Games gold. As I speak, I am feeling so happy and excited,” Satwik said after assuring the pair of at least a bronze here.

Satwik and Chirag on Friday became the first Indian pair to win a medal in the men’s doubles competition at the World Championships after stunning the local favourites and defending champions Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi 24-22, 15-21, 21-14 in the quarter-finals. “It is a big win for us. We haven’t played them in a long time. They are the current world champions and we badly wanted to play against them but we are always up against the top seeds Kevin [Sukamuljo] and [Marcus] Gideon in tournaments,” Satwik said.

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“We were excited as we wanted to see our level against them and I’m very happy with the way we played. We took a revenge on our former coach, Tan Kim Her, so I am happy for that,” he added.

Tan Kim Her from Malaysian was instrumental in forming the Indian pair during his stint as India’s doubles coach. He is currently coaching the Japanese doubles team. The Indian combination will meet sixth seeded Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the semi-finals. Satwik and Chirag had lost to the Malaysian duo during the finals of mixed team event at CWG in Birmingham.

“Here, we want to finish it on a big note, not just finish in semi-finals, but go further. Tomorrow, it will be a revenge match,” Satwik said.

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