Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy back at career-best No. 5 in world badminton rankings

India’s men’s doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy achieved their career-high rank of world No. 5 in the BWF world rankings issued on Tuesday.

Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, who were in the sixth position since January 2023, moved up one spot to fifth in the latest badminton rankings. The duo had previously achieved the world No. 5 ranking in December last year.

In a major drop, PV Sindhu slipped to world No. 12 in women’s singles. The two-time Olympic medallist dropped outside the top 10 for the first time in seven years. Sindhu’s current rank of No. 12 is her worst since March 2016.

In men's singles, HS Prannoy remained at the ninth spot in the world badminton rankings. Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth moved up one place to 22nd while Commonwealth Games 2022 champion Lakshya Sen too went up a spot to 23rd. Mithun Manjunath made the biggest jump in men’s singles, climbing five places to become world No. 41.

In the women's doubles rankings, the pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand gained two spots to become world No. 17.

For Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, this has been a dream week. The rise in the rankings comes after the duo scripted history by winning the Badminton Asia Championship 2023 men’s doubles title in Dubai on Sunday.

With the feat, the pair became the first Indian badminton players to win in a final at the continental badminton championships since Dinesh Khanna won the men's singles title in 1965.

Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, the reigning Commonwealth Games champions, also became the first Indian men’s doubles pair to win the gold medal at the Asian meet. Dipu Ghosh and Ramen Ghosh won the bronze medal in 1971.

This was the second title of the year for Shetty and Rankireddy, who won the Swiss Open in March.

Meanwhile, another Indian men’s doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and MR Arjun jumped four spots to be ranked 23rd in the world.