Coach Mathias Boe: Chirag-Satwiksairaj duo can be dangerous even against top pairs at Tokyo 2020

Mathias Boe, a distinguished doubles Badminton player who retired in 2020, feels that India's top-ranked pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy have the ability to make a mark at their first-ever Olympics at Tokyo later this year.

The 40-year-old is currently India's doubles coach and is tasked with getting Chirag and Satwiksairaj up to shape ahead of Tokyo 2020.

Chirag and Satwiksairaj have already spoken about how Boe has been helping them find new facets to their game to help them combat the variety of opponents they are likely to encounter at Tokyo.

"We wanted to see where we stand, and not be scared of new things. And what we were trying to implement is working well. It’s straightforward what our strengths are, and with these strategies, Indians can be extremely dangerous even against the top pairs," he told The New Indian Express.

"But if we are not focussed 100 per cent, we’ll struggle," Boe warned.

Known for his pursuit of perfection and gruelling training regimen, Boe is now focused on translating that attitude on to his wards.

"I’m used to being in a training hall as a player. I put myself in their shoes and coach them as I would’ve coached myself if I was two different persons," he says.

Boe, who won an Olympic silver medal at London 2012 and was the runner-up at 2013 World Championships, has but one mission in his mind - push the Indian pair as hard as they can go.

"I’m a tough coach but I put it all out there. And if they are not pushing hard enough, or putting in the extra effort, then they need someone close to them to tell them the harsh words.

"I’m not someone who’ll keep patting them on the back. I’ll tell them ‘this is not good and you need to do this to get better’. Initially they thought it’s a little bit strict, but now they understand," he said.

However, it has not been a case of a strict disciplinarian enforcing his methods on the duo. Boe wants his players to understand the methods and be convinced before implementing them.

"I draw on tactics from my own career. But ultimately, they need to execute them. So I do ask them, ‘Do you see it the same way?’ For if there’s the slightest doubt in their minds, the plans won’t work,” he states.

Though the pandemic has affected the training plans drawn up for Chirag and Satwiksairaj, Boe is looking at factors that are in their control instead.

With the Super Series events in Malaysia and Singapore cancelled, the shuttlers are not likely to get quality match experience before they go to Tokyo but Boe is looking at what's ahead for Chirag and Satwiksairaj.

"We tend to be disciplined as players. But this virus has been difficult for everyone. Not so much about sporting things, but the scene is so bad that it’s overshadowed everything.

"My job was to draw up training timelines. Work on Plan B if Plan A didn’t work. But here, nothing is going as well as we hoped. It’s almost come down to survival for human species. For almost a year and a half, we’ll be training which is mentally hard when all that players want to do is compete.