What would Satwik-Chirag need to do to beat Chinese, Malaysians and Koreans to win badminton gold at Olympics?

The draw could be called fair, and fairly reasonable this time. For Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had run into World Nos 1 and 3 at the Tokyo Olympics, and even nicked a win off one of them but exited at the group stage nevertheless unluckily. This time, they are the No 3 seeds heading into their second Games. And both the draw and dangers call for them to take things one match at a time.

The Indians won the French Open, sort of a Test event, at that same hall this spring, with the A/Cs turned on, making it similar to the Olympics. But the glare of the summer can be quite different even in indoor environs for the main showpiece. Still the Porte de La Chapelle Arena is expected to play faster than other sluggish big halls, which carves up the competition clearly.

The spectacular Chinese Weikeng Liang and Wang Chang, top seeds, remain favourites for the title. Wang, with his exceptional quick movements and anticipation at the net, will prove lethal in those faster courts, and the wild hitter Weikeng will relish the conditions, as much as the two hard-hitting Indians.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in action. (Express Photo)

The other pairing that might revel in their fast, flat attack and make life difficult for everyone around are Anders Skaarup Rasmussen and Kim Astrup. They might seem to be caught up in the horror group D with the defending champions, the always-dangerous second Chinese and the thirsting-for-glory Japanese. But Astrup-Rasmussen can blast their way out of that group, and continue to threaten whoever comes in their path, given their playing style.

If the conditions – if the French Open was an indicator – stay steady, a particular needle might get threaded: facing the assorted wobbly serves of opponents, which turn devilish might not be a bother here in the absence of sideways drift that wreaks havoc.

Shetty’s childhood coach Uday Pawar insists the myriad mystery serves that spun webs, and messed with the Indians’ returns, might pose negligible trouble at the French venue. Also, that coach Mathias Boe got down to demystifying them himself, serving them at a fast clip as Shetty and Rankireddy came to grips with the possibility of facing them without being consumed by the fear, in training ahead of Paris.

Interestingly, Boe, Pawar says, isn’t a big fan of weaponising the spinning serves either. He might even dissuade one of his two players, who’s pretty adept at the Wobbler, from trying them out at the Games. The thinking seems to be that chair umpires aren’t going to take too kindly to borderline befuddling serves at the Olympics, and might call faults on all such attempts. So it’s not worth the trouble.

India’s Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy during the men’s doubles final badminton match against South Korea’s Seo Seung-jae and Kang Min-hyuk at the India Open 2024, in New Delhi, Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024. (PTI Photo)

The fact remains that one of the two Indians possesses the skill, and is confident he can pull it off, if needed at the right time – like match point for a medal. Boe’s annoyance of the irritating serves though, remains.

While the Top 3 head into Olympics in favoured conditions, the likes of Malaysian Aaron Chia, slimmed down and enjoying pressure to boot, pose the threat of running away with matches in those attack-heavy courts. He can literally get going on his day. The Korean reigning World Champions will be a bit of mystery – not particularly scary on faster courts, but that makes southpaw Seo Seung-jae all the more determined to find solutions at the net, as perhaps the most skilled player in the men’s doubles draw.

Satwik-Chirag’s group opponents, the Indonesians, are not to be trifled with, and always start at 50-50 probability, even if they have lost all three times to Indians. “Indians have a good record against them statistically. But they need to get there and let the racquet do the actual talking,” Pawar says, insisting that it will be important to top the group to avoid running into a tougher quarterfinal match-up.

India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty claimed their first title of 2024 at the Malaysia Open. (PHOTO: AP)

The Germans Lamsfuss and Marvin can be dangerous too, and should be approached with caution, in the group stages.

Perhaps the biggest challenge at Paris – real and doubt-inducing swirl – for the Indians, will be Satwik’s fitness status. By all accounts, he has been managing his power torquing back and shoulder for at least 3 years now, even as murmurs and mutters paint it as a dire picture. The mischief-making Iago’s of this world keep stirring the pot of speculation. He’s won Asiad, Thomas Cup and Indonesia all with careful niggle-management, but it’s an open secret that the Indian duo are at their best when both are injury-free.

Attack is their strength, and even if their defense is much improved now than at Tokyo, there’s a simplicity to their venom – all-out offense at the first opportunity. Their maturity has been in being able to respond to a plan not working, by smoothly switching to a countering game and coping with the stress piled on by a defiant opponent.

Pawar says as Chirag’s oldest coach, he kept his advice deliberately pithy given the pressure that medal hopefuls from Indian get swamped under. “What’s defined their success is the hunger to keep winning more and more. They’ve won the biggest matches. The main reason you got there is because you had the burning fire. Don’t be complacent. Be happy that you get to contend for a medal at the Olympics. And don’t ever be subdued,” he ends.

He chuckles there’s always the secret serve from one of the two, that can open at the end.

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