Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy set sights on LA 2028 medal, gold in World Championships

Hyderabad: Indian badminton men’s doubles player Chirag Shetty said he and his doubles partner, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, have set sights on winning a medal at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 and a gold medal at the World Championships soon.

The duo couldn’t make it count at the Paris Olympics 2024 as they lost in the quarterfinals of the prestigious quadrennial competition.

Speaking at a panel discussion “Beyond the Finish Line’, organised by Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, Chirag Shetty said as Satwiksairaj is injured and is currently recovering, the duo have not been in action since the Olympics.

“My partner (Satwiksairaj) is injured currently, we will start soon and make our plan. Obviously, a medal in the 2028 LA Olympics is the target,” Chirag said in the panel discussion.

He said the duo have an attitude of never say never. “We wanted to win a medal at the Paris Olympics but that was not to be. But never say never. We have won almost every medal except for an Olympics medal. We would also like to win gold in the World Championships,” he elaborated.

He added that the duo have a plan to win every medal the sport has to offer during their career. “I want to win every medal the sport has to offer before I retire,” he added.

Both Chirag and Satiwksairaj have won the gold medal at the Asian Games and Chirag admitted that doubles in badminton did not receive enough attention and support in the early stages of their career but quickly added that it has changed now. “Earlier, people used to look up to the singles players and not to doubles. There was step-motherly treatment to the doubles players and they did not get enough support initially. But slowly and steadily, things have changed. It’s the change in mindset that we can beat anybody in the world which is taking us ahead,” he explained.

Chirag said while they had played many matches with better intensity than the Thomas Cup win, the difference between winning and losing was the jest. “The difference was in the urge and jest to win the title. I have played many matches much better than the one in the Thomas Cup final but have not played with the same jest I had that day. That made the difference,” he concluded.