"It would be great if we could get a specialist doubles coach as early as possible"

"It would be great if we could get a specialist doubles coach as early as possible" - Indian badminton star Chirag Shetty

By Suhas Nayse

Modified Dec 10, 2021 20:57 IST

Chirag Shetty (left) and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy await the appointment of a new doubles coach

It is no secret that Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy haven't had a specialist doubles coach accompanying them in the last few months. In fact, the world No 9 pair have been without a coach since the Tokyo Olympics in August.

Chirag and Satwik did reasonably well in their maiden Olympics in Tokyo where Mathias Boe guided them. The duo won two of their three group matches, but failed to qualify for the quarterfinals.

Boe’s year-long contract ended with the Olympics and the men's doubles former world No 1 did not continue due to other commitments.

“He has his other commitments. Boe wanted to train Chirag and Satwik on a tournament-to-tournament basis. He didn't want to commit himself fully as the doubles coach. BAI wanted Boe to take up a full-time role. That was the reason Boe left the scene,” a source told Sportskeeda.

Chirag and Satwik became the first Indian men’s doubles pair to qualify for the prestigious season-ending BWF World Tour Finals. They made the cut with the semifinals of the Indonesian Open Super 1000 tournament in Bali.

However, they withdrew from the World Tour Finals after playing just one match due to a knee injury to Satwik. The Indians lost 16-21, 5-21 to Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in Group A.

The Indian duo have been seeded eighth and handed a first round bye at the World Championships which begin in Huelva, Spain on Sunday.

"We have not had a doubles coach with us for the last 4 months" - Chirag Shetty

Commonwealth Games silver medallists Chirag and Satwik have been playing continuously since October, but without any major success.

“Yes we haven’t had a doubles coach for the past four months now since the Olympics. It would be great if we could get one as early as possible because we really need someone to guide us during matches,” 24-year-old Chirag said.

They have struggled to play at their best due to the absence of a specialist doubles coach and are hoping BAI will appoint one soon.

“We need a regular coach so that he can also plan our daily practice sessions properly. So I hope we can get one at the earliest possible time,” said Chirag.

After the Tokyo Olympics, Chirag and Satwik skipped the Sudirman Cup due to a back injury sustained by the former.

The pair represented the national team in the BWF Thomas Cup, where India failed to qualify for the semifinals. After finishing second in Group C behind China, India lost to hosts Denmark 1-3 in the quarterfinals.