“We are enjoying the game and playing with do or die attitude,” shares Satwiksairaj Rankireddy after he won the French Open with Chirag Shetty

Indian star badminton duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have been the epitome of improvement through the years. They have grown in all aspects of their game as they have several accolades in the last couple of years which also includes the historic Thomas Cup, Indian Open, Commonwealth Games gold medal and also the World Championship bronze medal. However they recently added the French Open title to their illustrious kitty creating history for India once again.

Recently Satwiksairaj Rankireddy spoke about his and Chirag Shetty’s journey as a pairing as they have a do or die approach with their set goals and that attitude has allowed them to achieve success while enjoying the game.

“In 2019, I was playing every tournament, there was no break. I was also playing both men’s and mixed doubles. It was like there is always another tournament, so even if we lose it is okay, but now it is do or die. We want to win whichever tournament we are playing,” shared the 22-year-old from Andhra Pradesh. He highlights how it is important to take time off from the game to refresh the mind so that one can come back with more zeal to win matches, titles, etc.

He highlights how the pair has a proper plan and are not playing each and every tournament like robots. They want to win titles and not only just make numbers hence giving the body a much needed break is also important. “So we are not targeting every tournament, that is something which has changed. We are not playing like robots, we have a proper plan. We know we have to hit this mark, and if we are achieving our goal, then we are done for the year. “We are pushing ourselves more than 100 per cent in practice. We are focussing mentally a lot on the tournaments. So it’s like go, have a podium finish, come back home, take a break and then set fresh goals, so trying to make it a good habit.”

Satwiksairaj shared how they wanted to win the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and even when they achieved it, they were not satisfied as they wanted more. Her also shares how it is important to enjoy the game which they have been doing from the last year. “I prepared mentally a lot. We knew we have to play in the Commonwealth Games. We won, but we are not satisfied, because we know we have the world championships. “So prepared our mind in such a way that we have these two big events, so we have to push ourselves, and in the process, even if we get injured, it is fine, we have all year to recover. “The process has helped us to enjoy playing these tournaments. In the Thomas Cup, we were dancing all the time. So you want that win again and again. Once you are in that race, you push again and again to get that victory,” shared the 22-year-old who is currently competing at the Hylo Open in Germany.

The French Open win has given them an outside chance to qualify for the BWF World Series as they are now in 12th rank. But with only the top ranked pairings qualifying for the event, Satwik-Chirag will have to bring their best game to Germany and Australia to make it to the event.