"I have nothing against cricket" - Chirag Shetty wants equal treatment for all sports

Indian badminton star, hailing from Maharashtra, Chirag Shetty, lashed out at the Maharashtra government after they felicitated Indian cricketers Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, and Yashasvi Jaiswal for winning the T20 World Cup 2024 in West Indies.

On Friday, July 5, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced a cash prize of INR 11 crore for the T20 World Cup-winning Indian players, which didn’t go down well with Chirag Shetty as he felt the government is not treating all other sports equally.

Chirag Shetty is currently preparing for the forthcoming Paris Olympics, scheduled to start on July 26. He would be partnering with Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and the duo is training at the national camp in Hyderabad under the experienced coach, Mathias Boe of Denmark. Chirag made it clear that he has nothing against cricket or cricketers.

"I have nothing against cricket. In fact, we all badminton players watched the T20 World Cup final live on TV and celebrated enthusiastically. We are happy and proud about their sensational win against South Africa in the final," Chirag told TOI.

"Similarly, we had also achieved something remarkable a couple of years ago, but the state government did not even felicitate me, leave apart giving any cash rewards. Before 2022, the Indian badminton team had never even reached the semifinals but we created history by winning the title," he added.

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"Thomas Cup is equivalent to winning the World Cup” - Chirag Shetty

It's worth noting that Chirag Shetty played a crucial role in propelling Team India to a historic Thomas Cup title win in 2022. The Indian team stunned the defending champions, Indonesia, by 3-0 in the final to bag the historic title, which is equivalent to winning the World Cup, according to Chirag.

"Thomas Cup is equivalent to winning the World Cup. I was part of the Indian badminton team which won its maiden title, shocking champions Indonesia in the final. I was the only Maharashtra player in the Indian team. When the government can honor World Cup-winning cricket stars, they should have also recognised my efforts. Government should treat any other sport equally,” Chirag said.

Remarkably, a few months ago, Chirag and Satwik emerged as the first Indian men’s doubles pair to become the World No.1 pair. The in-form duo played an exceptional role in taking Indian badminton to newer heights, including memorable wins at the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and Olympics.

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