A disappointing day for India as the duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered a defeat in the quarterfinals. It was not an easy upset for Indian fans, who had high expectations of a medal.
This is not to say that the pair was weak or performed poorly. They had won back-to-back gold medals at the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. They were also the world’s number-one pair for some time in the rankings and won all their group-stage matches at the Paris Olympics.
InsideSport exclusively spoke to former badminton player and multiple medal winner Sikki Reddy to gain insights into what went wrong.
Tactical issues and momentum shifts
Reddy commented, “I watched the match. The first game was quite solid, and they started strong. They were actually up 4-0 initially in the second game. However, things began to shift when their opponents changed their service variations. They mixed up the flat and corner services, and Satwik and Chirag missed a few serves. The score quickly evened out, and the Malaysians took the lead.”
Challenges in the last two games
She added, “In the second game, the Malaysians managed to pull ahead, and Satwik and Chirag struggled to regain momentum. The third game was particularly challenging; the start was rough, and they were fighting to keep up. Despite their efforts to recover and get back into the game, they faced disadvantages due to the side of the court and the pressure from their opponents. The Malaysians kept them on their toes with fast-paced play and didn’t let them settle at the net.”
Pressure and performance issues
Reddy also said, “There was noticeable pressure on both Satwik and Chirag. They usually manage pressure well, but in this match, it seemed to affect them more. They were quick to rush their points and didn’t take their usual time to reset after losing points. This was evident when they lost several points consecutively from 16-all. We expected them to win comfortably, so it was quite an unfortunate loss. They really should have secured the second game, which could have changed the match’s outcome.”
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