Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, one-half of India’s top-ranked men’s doubles pair, learnt to play with a lot of pain in 2024.
In April 2024, he and Chirag Shetty had to pull out of the Badminton Asia Championship due to a shoulder injury while their return after the Paris 2024 heartbreak was delayed as he was recovering from dual injuries, one in the back and the other on the elbow.
“Now, I usually play with a lot of pain. So, I thought, ‘It’s okay, this is normal’. Even in Paris, it was pretty cool,” Reddy writes in The Indian Express.
But he found a support system in the form of his brother at Paris 2024.
“I had my main pillars there. My brother was there to support me. When he is around, I feel very comfortable. I have someone to talk to, someone who can deal with things, tell me how to manage when things are not going well… He had booked an apartment very close to the stadium so after matches, I used to go there, he’d cook a meal and we’d just sit down, have a good lunch, and a good laugh,” he further writes.
“We felt good heading to the quarterfinals against Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik. We told each other there’s no need to panic. The first game went well, but then things started to turn around. In matches, such things do happen but looking back, I had only one month of good practice, was dealing with injuries and felt a little out. I was frustrated with myself that everything was happening at the wrong time.
“Before the Olympics, I had taken a shot on my back. But not being 100 per cent fit physically must have affected my partner as well. He had to cover for me and that situation may have kept him under pressure,” he adds.
Although the pair missed out on a much-anticipated medal at Paris 2024; they learned the value of sticking together as a team and understanding each other during tough times after returning to India.
“I wanted time off but Chirag wanted to play tournaments. Then, coach (Mathias Boe) wasn’t there. Our trainer had left, too. Chirag and I sat down and talked; we were doing everything without the coach – planning tournaments, protecting our ranking… It was a little tough at that time. We were blank at one point as to what to do. Personally, it took me a while to start again from zero,” Rankireddy recalls.
“It was during this period I realised the value of doubles badminton. You are teammates not just on the court, but off it too,” he adds.