Sindhu eyes third successive medal Satwik-Chirag aim for maiden doubles badminton gold

Paris: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will hope to deliver the country's first-ever badminton gold, while PV Sindhu would look to solidify her status as one of the greatest athletes with an unprecedented third successive Olympic medal when Indian shuttlers begin their campaign at the Paris Games here on Saturday.

Sindhu will need to summon her big-game temperament to add another medal to the silver and bronze she won in the last two editions and Satwik and Chirag will aim to continue their love affair at the French capital, having won the men's doubles super 750 crown here this year.

For Ashwini Ponnappa, Paris is likely to be her last Olympics and she will hope to be third time lucky as she leads the women's doubles challenge along with debutant Tanisha Crasto.

Then there are the other two first-timers -- HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen, who will be equally keen to return with a medal. The catch is that only one of them can achieve that feat, given that they are set to collide in the pre-quarterfinals if they cross the group stage.

The singles stars have had a bumpy ride to Paris but Satwik-Chirag have looked to be playing in a different sphere, claiming two titles and reaching four finals this year. They have won the Thomas Cup, Commonwealth Games gold and World Championships bronze in 2022, Asian Games and Asian Championships gold and also achieved the world number one ranking.

Satwik-Chirag, seeded third, are placed in Group C with world No.6 and reigning All England champions Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia, world No.31 German pair of Mark Lamsfuss and Marvin Seidel and world No.46 French shuttlers Lucas Corvee and Ronan Labar.

The Indians have defeated Alfian and Ardianto in their last three meetings, while they have a 1-0 record against the German pair and 2-0 against the Frenchmen.

Satwik and Chirag will look to finish at the top to get in the dominating mindset ahead of the knockouts. Chinese world no 1 Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, and No. 4 Koreans Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae will be the fiercest competitor on their way to gold.

Sindhu, on the other hand, has been patchy in the run-up to the Games. A left ankle injury in 2022 took six months to heal and she struggled in 2023. After a few months, she suffered a knee injury in October last year. She returned in February but results were tough to come by with the highlight being a runner-up finish at Malaysia Masters.