Commonwealth Games 2018: Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj's on-court exploits a reflection of their off-court understanding

During the whole conversation, the word ‘understanding’ was often brought up by India’s No 1 men’s doubles pair Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy to describe their on-court partnership. In a span of just two years, the duo has successfully silenced the doubters and caused multiple upsets at major tournaments.

It’s hard to believe that the understanding between the two was once non-existent.

While their opponents snatched points with ease, Shetty and Rankireddy looked at each other in disbelief. They began to wonder whether this partnership was ever going to work out.

This was in 2016. In mid-February, doubles coach Tan Kim Her had asked Shetty and Rankireddy to part ways with their respective partners and team up together. One of the very first reactions to this decision was a big ‘why?’ None of the players understood the logic behind the move nor did they have a clear view of it. More so, because both Shetty and Rankireddy had already maintained a healthy on-court relationship with their previous partners.

But one thing was clear that the players were not on the same page as their coach. Questions were thrown at Tan every now and then as the duo failed to cross the first round of their first three tournaments together. In fact, the results in the first six months were nowhere near satisfactory or beneficiary for either of the two.

By now, the thought of reuniting with their previous partners had crossed their minds “When we started playing, we were complaining about each other,” recalled Rankireddy. “We were doubting the coach’s decision to pair us. Because Krishna (Prasad Garaga) and I were playing good and he and (MR) Arjun were playing good. And we were looking to play well in future tournaments. But he came and changed our partners,” he added.

After watching them play for nearly a month, the Malaysian coach had noticed that both were attacking players with a variety of strokes and have the potential to take on international-level players. Even national coach Pullela Gopichand felt that it would be best to let them play together after watching the young duo practice at the academy in Hyderabad. Despite the poor results, both the coaches decided to include Shetty and Rankireddy’s name in the Indian squad for the Thomas and Uber Cup and other major team events.

Knowing this was a huge gamble, Tan was aware of the backlash before anyone else. So, to make things smooth, he asked Shetty and Rankireddy for yet another favour – to have at least one meal of the day, if not both, together. According to the Malaysian, spending maximum time with each other outside the court will help them combine better on the court.

“We also shared a room on Tan coach’s recommendation. Earlier, we used to stay in different rooms. I always hung around out with Telugu people a lot. I didn’t like to go out with North Indian guys. He (Shetty) was a part of that group. He also ate everything, I used to eat only Indian food. I often had meals alone,” laughed the 17-year-old shuttler.

Coming from different backgrounds often resulted in very little dialogue between the two, but that wasn’t the only reason why there were differences at the beginning.

Being a backcourt player like Rankireddy, Shetty found it strange to take the role of covering the net. The inexperience of playing on the frontcourt had a huge impact on their on-court coordination.

The biggest challenge for Shetty, who had never played at the net earlier, was to overcome the habit of rushing back after playing the shuttle at the net. “But then the coach spoke to us and explained that Satwik has a very good backcourt game and I should try and concentrate on improving my frontcourt game. Once we started doing that, results started to come,” added the 20-year-old shuttler.

While both youngsters were busy connecting the dots, Tan also knew that the off-court changes would definitely work, albeit rather slowly. After three disappointing results at international tournaments, it was time for the coach’s patience and trust to bear fruit. Shetty and Rankireddy picked up their first title together at the 2016 Mauritius Open. “Our first title in Mauritius changed everything for us. We started to combine well without any problems,” said Shetty.

The success in Mauritius opened the gates for Shetty and Rankireddy to play with more freedom and understanding. In as many months, the duo clinched yet another title, this time at the Bangladesh Open in December. In 2017, they won the jackpot title – Vietnam Open. “Tan coach said that in Malaysia they do it this way. It is like the doubles players are like in a marriage,” said Rankireddy, who also plays mixed doubles with Ashwini Ponnappa since 2017.

After gaining the much-needed exposure by competing at Superseries events, Shetty and Rankireddy jumped places in the BWF rankings to qualify for the World Badminton Championships in Glasgow followed by a quarter-final appearance at the Korea and French Open, where they nearly knocked former World No 1 pair of Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen.

Taking cues from Indonesians

The ‘understanding’ between the two was quite evident during their exceptional quarter-final win over higher-ranked Danish pair of Mads Conrad-Petersen and Mads Pieler Kolding at the Indonesia Masters in front of a boisterous crowd in Jakarta. With that win, Shetty and Rankireddy became the first Indian men’s doubles pair to reach a semi-final of a major international event. “When we play against the Danes, we generally win the game and they change the strategy in the second game but we level things,” explained Shetty. This was just the beginning. To get the better of a higher-ranked pair is one thing but to take on the world number one pair in their own den the next day is a different ball game altogether.

Indonesia is a badminton-crazy country and the atmosphere inside the arena is worth experiencing. Shetty and Rankireddy didn’t let the occasion get the better of them in the first few rounds until local pair Kevin Sanjaya and Marcus Gideon took the Indian duo by surprise in the semi-finals. “We don’t know how to understand crowd pressure,” said Rankireddy. “Kevin’s serves in Indonesia were quite extraordinary. We didn’t notice at first but he surprised us with a few spin serves. Nobody does that now. We were ready for flick serves,” said Rankireddy.

The duo succumbed to the pressure and gave too much respect to their opponents by thinking they were playing against World No 1 pair. “They are really confident about the game. It’s sky high now. They’ll do all kinds of tricks on the court to win,” said Shetty with a broad smile on his face. There are no doubts about the Indonesian pair’s quality. Kevin and Marcus won record-breaking seven Superseries titles last year and are on a title-winning spree in 2018 as well. Shetty and Rankireddy admitted that they are in awe of the lightning-fast gameplay of the ‘Minions’. “We all respect them a lot. That’s why we can’t perform against them. When we watch their videos, we are like, ‘Dekho Kevin aagaya, Kevin aagaya (Watch out for Kevin),” said Rankireddy.

Interestingly, when Kevin and Marcus were down against the Chinese Taipei’s Chen Hung Ling and Wang Chi-Lin in the quarter-finals, Rankireddy was particularly very happy to see them lose but Chirag knew they will come back. Eventually, they did and went on to claim the title. Shetty even had the pleasure to play alongside legendary doubles player Lee Yong Dae who helped him improve his net game as the former Olympic gold medallist would give him multi-shuttle drills when both were part of the Mumbai Rockets in the 2017 edition of Premier Badminton League.

Meanwhile, Indonesian legend Markis Kido gave a few invaluable tips to Hyderabad Hunters teammate Rankireddy during the recently-concluded edition in January. “All the players in Indonesia play with all the top players. There is no dearth of talent in doubles badminton there. There is so much to learn with the veterans which we hardly get here,” admitted Rankireddy, who has also kept the doors open to train abroad and most likely in Indonesia.

Shetty and Rankireddy will be making their maiden appearance at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast. A golden opportunity for the young duo to show a glimpse of their ‘understanding’. 

It is still the early days of their career but fortunately, the path looks clearer than what it was for doubles badminton a few years ago. After spending almost 24 months together, both shuttlers are more than happy with their development, thanking Tan’s decision.

“We don’t need a brief conversation on the court, an eye contact and handshake would do. That’s understanding,” concluded Shetty.