Satwiksairaj Rankireddy was once that Peter Pan of endless, undiminishing, unfazed, unbroken optimism. Nothing could destroy his positivity — the hulking smash-maestro of Indian badminton had an indestructible mind.
He bent reality, inhabited an Alt Universe while winning one of the biggest titles on Tour. He even made Chirag Shetty – who compulsively Googles every new thing, and doubly, triply checks the smallest details – buy into his hypnotic idea, as they disrupted global badminton by becoming the first Indian No 1s in doubles, while coming from a country with no pedigree in doubles.
You could pin Satwik’s ridiculous self-belief down to a specific date – June 16, 2023. Though Satwik in Wonderland went on till 18 June, 2023, when India’s finest doubles duo won the Indonesia Open.
Back then, Satwik-Chirag had not learnt to ration their energy, hold back and save themselves for just big events, like a PV Sindhu could. Or to check themselves in strokeplay, to keep a few tricks hidden from opponents. They would go all-out, unafraid, and play an unrestrained, uncomplicated attacking game, and celebrate victories with a dance.
They took in their stride toxic criticism, which is now a precondition set by some fans, as something Satwik-Chirag need to suffer, if they want throwaway, poor-grammar appreciation posts after wins.
Back in June of 2023, Satwik-Chirag were on a roll at Jakarta. Defeating Toma Jr & Christo Popov in Round 1, then Chinese He-Zhou next, followed by the quarterfinals when Sorcerer Satwik’s magic unfolded. They were playing future All England champs, and then top seeds, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia. The Indians were seeded seventh.
A primer on the Istora Gelora Bung Karno arena in Jakarta for those who only watch badminton at the Olympics: it’s a modern-day Coliseum. Something to do with the steeper gradient of the bleachers and hovering proximity to the playing courts. The stands surround like perpetual room walls closing in on you. This is before the Indonesians start cheering. Those are aural frequencies that can leave a ringing noise in your sinus pipes for a very long time. They scream, they chorus, they sing, their chants echo like drums. Istora cloaks you in intimidating noise. When Indonesian doubles pairings play, the arena’s decibel level can dictate your breathing pattern.
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What was Satwik’s mindset heading into the court in the quarters, taking on the home favourites? “Indonesian fans make a lot of noise. They keep screaming things, but it is so noisy that you don’t catch the words. I told Chirag bhai….,” he would once narrate, with a chuckling pause: “We will just tell ourselves that all this noise is actually our people cheering for us. Since we don’t understand what’s being said, we presume they are our fans.”
In a foreign land, considered the toughest stadium to hold your nerves in, Satwik simply appropriated the Indonesian cheering and told his brain to process it as noise emanating for “our Indian people.” He even convinced the stubbornly logical Chirag of that cheeky delusion.
The foremost attacking shuttler, a blockbuster on court, acknowledged by the world for his aggressive game, thrived on the mere idea, that a stadium full of noisy spectators could be rooting for him. ‘We are Indians’, he would say in happier times, ‘we thrive in chaos.’
Satwik-Chirag beat Alfian-Ardianto 21-13, 21-13 that day. In the semis, they rode this hoot of a confidence wave to defeat the world’s best contemporary doubles player, Seo Seung-jae, playing with Kang Min-hyuk. And then stubbed out future world champions, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, in the final.
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Losses ever since have been bandied as ‘chokes’ by really random trolls, stealing Amjad Khan’s face as DP. The hate is a little unhinged, but Satwik-Chirag remain Indian badminton’s only world Top 5 in the last five years. Their game, ironically, has gotten far more solid than in 2022, when India won the Thomas Cup.
But the Olympics loss, and injuries that strike tall people with more venom, can make the most free-spirited athletes mighty circumspect.
Satwik also lost his father to a cardiac arrest while his parents were en route to Delhi in a car to witness the duo receive the Khel Ratna. Suddenly, the doted baby of the Amalapuram family, whose badminton love was nurtured by a sport-crazy father, lost his rock, the calming, wise influence on him.
The vile trolling never stopped – not even when he returned to India for Kasi Viswanatham’s death anniversary, this February. Paris didn’t break him, but Satwik was forced to grow up and turn responsible, as happens after such a tragedy. Always ready to break into a jig after wins, he now refuses to shoot a celebratory dancing reel because he needs to pack in the hotel and turn up punctually for the airport drop.
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Chirag and his coaches have stayed loyal, but the chirpy, happy-go-lucky Satwik is still coming to grips with what the indifferent silence of his “own Indians” can feel like. He doesn’t stop fighting, though – they have won a World Championship bronze and a Thomas Cup bronze, since then. And the record-breaking smash attack remains lethal at 500 kph.
Were he around, the real Amjad Khan, an adored Bollywood villain with menace, who loved his badminton and played regularly till an accident in 1976, would’ve appreciated the Thomas Cup bronze.
He would’ve shut down pesky trolls with, “Medals 2, appreciation bas itna…Bohot nainsaafi hai…”
