By Sahil Kohli
New Delhi [India], August 9 (ANI): India’s badminton doubles coach Tan Kim Her confirmed that the star doubles player Satwiksairaj Rankireddy is completely fit from his injury and the message to him and his doubles partner Chirag Shetty is to take it “one match a time” during the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships, starting from August 17 onwards in New Delhi.
Tan Kim spoke to ANI during the draw unveiling ceremony of the tournament in New Delhi recently. The championships will be held from August 17-23 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Arena, New Delhi. In one of the most exciting first-round matches, the Asian Championships silver medallist Ayush Shetty will be pitted against defending champion and top seed Shi Yuqi of China. In the men’s doubles draw, fifth seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have a bye in the opening round and will play the winners of the match between Alexander Dunn and Adam Pringle of Scotland and Thailand’s Chaloempon Charoenkitamorn and Worrapol Thongsa-Nga.
Speaking to ANI, Tan said about the duo of Satwik-Chirag, who had faced round of 32 exits in the Japan Open (July) and the Indonesia Open due to injuries after the highs of winning the Singapore Open in May, that the message for them is to “not put too much expectations”.
“So, the last game they played was the Singapore Open; they won the Singapore Open. After that Satwik got injured. So he has just fully recovered. And then what I can tell them is we… okay, do not put too much expectations. We take it one match at a time. Of course, focus is there, focus is there,” he said.
Speaking of the draw, Tan Kim was happy with the draw, but warned that after the first round, “nothing will be easy”.
“But what I can tell the players is we take one match at a time,” he added.
On the return of former Indian doubles coach Mathias Boe as the consultant to Satwik-Chirag and what impact his presence has made for the duo, the coach said that he is not in the main coaching staff role and is operating like a “friend outside”.
“Boe is not at the training or during the games. Boe is just doing his thing with them as a friend outside maybe. I do not really know much about it, nothing much I can say,” he said.
With the world championships returning to home soil after 17 years, Tan Kim encouraged the players to take things “positively”, play confidently and enjoy the home support,
“I can say here, all players, Indian players, should take it very positively. This is our home. So the supporters will be with us. So just go all out and play with full confidence,” he signed off.
The 2022 world championships bronze medallist Lakshya Sen will face Collins Valentine Filimon of Austria in the men’s singles first round and could face second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the pre-quarterfinals, as per a press release from the Badminton Association of India (BAI).
While India is aiming to win multiple medals on their home turf, all eyes would be on five-time world championships medallist PV Sindhu, who has struck form in the run-up to the Championships by winning the Japan Open last month.
Sindhu has managed to avoid the likes of world number one An Se Young of South Korea and defending champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan before the medal rounds. Though placed in the same half as Young, Sindhu is likely to meet China’s third seed Wang Zhi Yi in the pre-quarterfinals with a possible last eight clash against sixth seed Putri Wardani of Indonesia.
For Satwik and Chirag, the first real challenge is expected to come from the 12th-seeded Indonesian pair of Raymond Indra and Nikolaus Joaquin, who reached the finals of the Indonesia Open in June this year.
In mixed doubles, 15th-seeded Indian combination of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto have a bye in the opening round and their first real test could come in the round of 16 where they are likely to face sixth seeds Guo Xin Wa and Chen Fang Hui of China.
Their compatriots Rohan Kapoor and G Ruthvika Shivani will be up against Canada’s Jonathan Lai and Crystal Lai, with top seeds Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping of China waiting for them in the second round.
In the women’s doubles, two-time All England semi-finalists Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly will be up against Paula Lopez and Lucia Rodriguez of Spain in the first round, with USA’s 16th seeds Lauren Lam and Allison Lee waiting for them in the second round.
Debutants Simran Singhi and Kavipriya Selvam will kick off their campaign against Nikol Carulla and Carmen Jimenez of Spain, and if they clear that hurdle then they will face five-time European champions Gabriela Stoeva and Stefani Stoeva in the second round.
The second Indian men’s doubles pair of MR Arjun and Hariharan are also in the second half of the draw and will kick off their campaign against Ireland’s Scott Guildea and Paul Reynolds. (ANI)
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