It was the last match of the day in Changzhou at the Super 1000 China Open, the only one in the arena, in fact. And there was no doubt the crowd stayed on, exhaled along the rollercoaster, and finally rose to applaud Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. The Indians, back on the verge of entering the Top 10 after a torrid few months, were putting on a show, converting the neutrals, playing Malaysians Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi, winning 21-18, 21-14.
The doubles court can anyways appear too crowded for a player in the thick of things, but the Indians rained down an attack that was so compact that to the Malaysians it would have seemed like pelting hailstones. Operating from the faster side in the second set, the Indians chose doubled aggression to go with the wind. There was no nuancing the attack, no tiptoeing, just thrashing at the shuttle from the front court.
The ‘serve situation’ as tumble and spinny serves are referred to, were dealt with mostly by Satwik, by taking the pace off the shuttle and dealing with it very late. He neatly drained the venom out of them with deft racquet work, allowed the rally to start slow, and picked up the pace later with a spark plug steep smash. All attack was short, and from midcourt at the furthest.
In the opener, it was straightforward, breaking away at 10-8 and playing very acute cross smashes – almost whip lashes. The Indians are unrecognizable almost for their comfort on the flat game if that’s dictated. They can now control fast exchanges better than opponents. There were errors, even high service faults, but absolutely nothing sowed any doubt in their minds that this cluster steep attack was the way to go.
The two even took turns to switch places at the net, with Satwik sliding across a la Chirag, for net kills at 17-14 in the second. All those losses and heartbreaks have compelled them to plug every gap in their game, and made it more well-rounded than before, and what is now seen on court can overwhelm opponents because it isn’t just booming attacks.
Ong-Teo were left with no options than to lift, and those lifts were smothered – at 18-14 by a Satwik attack where his seven straight smashes got retrieved but he put enough bite into the eighth one, and could have gone on for a few more. Chirag was burnished with confidence, but Satwik did it all – half a dozen errors, and then slap-hooks and the KO punches spotting gaps like only he can.
“We have played with them quite a few times. Played in Jan and Malaysia. Similar court situations. In first set we thought from this side is very fast so we need to play a little fast no matter what and get attack as much as possible. In second game we knew they can’t play it’s so fast it’s going out. So we just need to focus on the front area and get ready with our racquets. We didn’t want to give them any chance or confidence in the net. So we played aggressive mentally on serves too, even if it was 16-16, 17-16, we felt we are playing the right game and stick to that,” Satwik explained the relentlessness to BWF.
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Chirag would inform how this was their furthest foray at China Open – their best was a first round prior to this. The Makaysuans are the form pair of the circuit, and the biggest test (“always a battle”) will be against Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik on Saturday. “Not yet best result,” Chirag corrected the BWF interviewer. “We still have it in the tank. Can go further,” he reminded.
The last few months – with grief, injury, tanking rankings and self doubt – have been tough. And smiling giants aren’t quite caught crying. But through the flux and downturn of the sport at home, Satwik-Chirag have carried Indian badminton. Semis of a Super 1000 is where they belong. Their celebrations are no longer jigs and movie poses – just clenched jaws and fists and eye contact. They will dance should a title come, but the game has matured under coach Tan Kim Her, himself a Malaysian, the man who brought them together.
Chirag would offer a peek into their mindset. “There have been tournaments where we have not done well. Like Singapore Open where we were in the worst shape possible, like even winning one game would be great. We started in that tournament and ended up playing the semifinals. That was way beyond our expectations. So hopefully here too we can go much further,” he said.
“The Olympics are a different animal and those who don’t follow badminton might not know how tough it is to win medals there,” the commentator Steen Pederson would remark. This pair, you suspect, is too far gone beyond the pall of disappointment of losses. One more wouldn’t hurt. They would simply resurrect again, and bring the crowd to its feet with their irresistible game. And that makes them quietly dangerous. Aaron Chia, the ridiculously talented Malaysian, poses an intriguing examination.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
