Asian Games 2023: 'Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty can win Asian Games gold'

This year has been particularly good for the Indian men’s doubles badminton team of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the one where they not only won the Swiss Open, Indonesia Open, and Korea Open but also attained world ranking two. All this after legendary Danish coach Mathias Boe took over. It’s a no-brainer that the latter played a major role in their growth. He helped them believe in themselves to become better players. Now the target is gold in Asian Games 2023 and Boe believes it’s possible.

Asian Games 2023

For Mathias Boe, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are a rare team, and a bit different from what we normally find in India. With the Asian Games 2023 approaching, the duo needs to be at their absolute 100% best. Any slip-ups could see them lose early on. In an exclusive interaction with InsideSport, the 43-year-old mentioned that all he cares about is the duo giving their best. And the result will follow.

“I think we have a good chance of winning the gold medal at the Asian Games now with Satwik and Chirag in good form. But I’m not focused much on that. I want to see them being the best versions of themselves. If they go out and play their best, and express themselves on the court, there is no reason why they can’t win the gold. If they don’t play at their best, they can lose too. 80% is not good enough,” he said.

Mathias Boe also highlighted what works for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, which is not just their skill, but the ability to express themselves on the court. The former Olympic medalist further hinted, perhaps this is where the other Indian teams are struggling, despite being very talented.

“It is very important for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty to be aggressive on the court. They both are a little different from each other but work like magic on the court. Like, Chirag is a bit more vocal, and he pumps up Satwik as well. And that is when they combine to bring out the firebrand of badminton.”

The Mathias Boe Philosophy

Without taking names of the players, he continued, “If we look at some of the other teams in India, they’re talented, but finding it hard to be at the top. The difference is they’re very dependent on the coach. They put in a lot of hard work and a lot of hours, but it’s like school for them. You’re not learning math at school, here we are talking about sports. It should never be that way when it comes to sport. The coach can guide you, give you advice, and listen to your whining, but at the end of the day, you need to be independent in the way you think.”

In fact, this is what Mathias Boe has been working for, with the Indian team for the last year and a half. Setting aside the Asian Games 2023, it will be interesting to see if other Indian badminton teams can rise to the occasion in future, and reach a level where they can truly be called world-class.

India Badminton Team for Asian Games 2023

Men’s singles: HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth, Lakshya Sen and Mithun Manjunath
Men’s doubles: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty and Dhruv Kapila/MR Arjun
Women’s singles: PV Sindhu and Ashmita Chaliha, Anupama Upadhyaya and Malvika Bansod
Women’s doubles: Gayatri Gopichand/Treesa Jolly and Ashwini Ponnappa/Tanisha
Mixed doubles: Rohan Kapoor /N Sikki Reddy and Sai Pratheek K/Tanisha Crasto