The prospect of playing for India’s first-ever men’s doubles medal in the BWF World Championships hadn’t fazed Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty last night. They kept waking up every few hours, wondering if it was time to get on court.
“I was quite excited. Even in my sleep – although I slept early – I wanted to get up and get going – and even though I kept waking up, I did sleep well,” said Shetty.
“I got up early thrice!” cut in Rankireddy. “I was like, I have to go early for the match!”
That gung-ho attitude was in evidence on court, as they saw off defending champions Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi in the quarterfinals, thus ensuring a medal for India.
The Japanese had recovered well in the second, but the Indians were comfortable winners in the end, 24-22 15-21 21-14.
So steady were the Indians that even when they dropped the second game, coach Mathias Boe didn’t appear worried.
“Mathias was very chill. I was surprised why he was so chill,” said Rankireddy.
“If he’d shouted at us, maybe we would have won the second game. He was like, no problem, you’re playing correct. He just told us it’s our game.
“We’re so happy and excited. We want to finish this on a big note. It’s a revenge match for us tomorrow; we’ve never beaten them (Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik). We just want to go there and enjoy the pressure. It’s going to be a big match.”
Prannoy Goes Down to Zhao
HS Prannoy, attempting to follow his compatriots into the semifinals, fell narrowly short in a hour-long battle to Zhao Jun Peng, 19-21 21-6 21-18.
“He started to play better from the second game and in the first half of the third game he was able to move swiftly, better than me, and catch the shuttle high,” said the Indian.
“It’s a good tournament for me. I would’ve loved to be on the podium, but that’s how it is. Some days you need to work a bit harder.”
“I’m really happy that I did better than last year. I’m in pretty good shape physically and mentally. Last year I lost in the quarterfinals, so I’m happy to make the semifinals.”
Rankireddy/Shetty 🇮🇳 clash with reigning champions Hoki/Kobayashi 🇯🇵#BWFWorldChampionships #Tokyo2022 pic.twitter.com/JuwIbAVxDS
— BWF (@bwfmedia) August 26, 2022