Japan’s doubles coach Tan Kim Her says Chirag Shetty-Satwik duo needs some luck to win medal at Tokyo Olympics 2021

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, former Indian doubles coach Tan Kim Her has revealed that the world No.10 pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy can finish on the podium provided they have some luck.

The young Indian duo of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy have qualified for the Olympics for the first time. At the last Rio Olympics in 2016, Manu Attri and Sumeeth Raddy had represented the Indian doubles team.

“It is no doubt that Chirag and Satwik will have to play very well to stay in contention for a medal. They will have to create some magical displays against higher-ranked opponents and hope to get some luck also. They have an outside chance of a medal if they produce scintillating performance in key matches,” said Tan Kim Her on Thursday.

The Malaysian was the specialist doubles coach in India from 2015 to 2019, before his sudden resignation in early 2019, with 18 months still left on his five-year contract. Tan Kim Her then joined Japan as their head men’s doubles coach in April 2019.

When Tan Kim Her took charge of the Indian team as the first foreign specialist doubles coach, he spotted the extraordinary talent of teenage sensations Chirag and Satwik. The former Malaysian player immediately asked them to play together and groomed them with his vast experience.

Tan Kim Her admits Chirag-Satwik pair has improved a lot

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had reached their career-best world ranking of 7 for a brief period in 2019.

“Chirag and Satwik have definitely improved as a pair. They have been maintaining their position in the top-10 for the last three years. It’s a remarkable achievement for them to stay with the other top teams in the world. However, I must say that they have to make a jump now. For the last couple of seasons they have not gone down but they are not moving up either. They will have to add some weapons to their game to break into the top-5 in the world,” said Tan Kim Her.

“I saw them playing in the All England Championship a few months ago. I must say that they have improved a lot. They played well but lost to a Danish pair. Chirag and Satwik got a little bit frustrated when the Danish pair won some lucky points at the crucial juncture of the match. Had they kept their composure, Chirag and Satwik would have had a chance to beat the Danes on that day. I guess confidence was missing there,” he said.

49-year-old Tan Kim Her, who was a Malaysian international shuttler, admitted the appointment of Mathias Boe as coach of the Indian doubles team in January 2021 was a very good move and will certainly help Indian players, particularly Chirag and Satwik.

“Boe is an experienced doubles player and his presence will certainly boost Chirag-Satwik. In the Olympics, everyone is well prepared. Since it is the first time Chirag and Satwik are playing at the biggest sporting event, Boe can share his experience and give some tips to better their performance. Overall, I can say that Boe will definitely add more value to change the fortunes of the Indian doubles section,” said Tan Kim Her.

Regarding Japan’s chances in the Tokyo Olympics, Tan Kim Herhe said the hosts have a chance to win medals in all five events - men's and women's singles and three doubles.

READ: Chirag Shetty's Tokyo Olympic preparations "on track" under Mathias Boe

“In every event, we have a chance to win a medal. In the All England Championship in March this year we have proved to the world that we are capable of dominating in singles as well as doubles by reaching the finals of four events. Barring the men’s singles, we won the titles in all the other events at the All England. For me it’s a dream moment because the men’s doubles final was played between the two Japanese pairs,” said Tan Kim Her.

In the men’s doubles, Japan have two pairs in the top-5. Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe are world No.4, while just a rung below are Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda.

“Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe have created a history as they retained the men’s doubles title at the All England Championship a few months ago. It was a very satisfying moment for me as a coach. They are hot favorites to win gold medal in Tokyo. The top Chinese and Indonesian pairs did not participate in the last few tournaments because of COVID-19. However, all will be there at the Olympics and will be very open for any of the world’s top 15 pairs to win the title. Indonesia’s Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo are heading to the world rankings and even some of the Chinese Taipei pairs are also formidable,” said Tan Kim Her.

Japan are likely to dominate the women’s doubles section too as both the top pairs are leading rankings. If everything goes well according to the rankings, they are expected to clash in the final.

In the mixed doubles category, Japan has only one pair in the top-10. Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino are ranked fifth in the world. Tan Kim Her said being the hosts of the Olympics, the Japanese players will certainly have a slight advantage.