Fuel the Olympic Fire: How is Satwiksairaj Rankireddy training ahead of the Olympics? All you need to know about his training and diet
The pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj are India's sole representatives in men's doubles in the Olympics
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are India's premier doubles badminton pair and the duo will be flying to Tokyo to participate in the upcoming Olympics which is slated to begin on July 23 2021.
Satwik hails from a town called Amalapuram in Andhra Pradesh and took to badminton after getting inspired by his father who was himself a state-level player. In fact, it was his father's dream to watch him in the Olympics that spurred him to take up the sport professionally.
He is a cadet of the Gopichand Academy and has won a gold and silver medal in Gold Coast, Australia in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. He built on his performance in 2019 and went on to win the Thailand Open beating Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen of China.
However, in 2021 the pair have had a mixed bag of results as they were working on a new plan under the guidance of Mathias Boe which is significantly different from their traditional style. They were defeated in the Round of 16 in the Yonex Thailand Open, only to come back stronger within a week to reach the semi-finals of the Toyota Thailand Open. They continued their rich vein of form in the Swiss Open in Basel and reached the semifinals before they were defeated by the Danish pair of Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen. Their performance went further south in the All England Open, as they exited in the Round of 16 after getting beaten by the same Danish pair.
With just over a fortnight to go for the Olympics, Satwik is leaving no stone unturned to put up an impressive show in Japan.
How is Satwiksairaj Rankireddy training for the Olympics?
All the Olympic-bound shuttlers are training at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad to get accustomed to the drift that is commonplace in a large indoor stadium like what is expected in Tokyo. They are focussing on improving their defence, which they think will be crucial during the matches against the mighty Indonesians.
"Mainly our disadvantage was defence. In crucial moments we used to crumble and now we think we can pick up points in those situations. We have mended our weakness in service return and how to commit," Reddy revealed to Olympics.com.
He reaches the court by 7:30 am and focuses on strength training for almost 30 minutes before taking to the court. This is usually the most intense session which goes on for more than two hours.
"But as the Olympics are getting closer we are not pushing ourselves that much, as we don't want to get injured. You can say we are training in medium intensity with greater attention to technique and skill."
The evening session is a bit lighter and lasts for about 90 minutes. It is a mix and match of gym and on-court practice.
What is Satwik's stressbuster?
The shuttler is a huge fan of mobile shooting games. After dinner, he spends an hour on gaming with his friends to unwind.
"Right now I am playing the Indian version of PubG. It is stress relief. After dinner for one hour with friends, it is mandatory. Then I go off to sleep by 9:30 pm," he stated.
What constitutes Satwik Reddy's diet?
Reddy stays away from junk food and sweets. Last month, his family moved with him to Hyderabad so that he can have home-cooked food.
"In the morning I have either Dosa or Idli. It is like common in every South Indian family," he smiles.
For lunch, he focuses on having proteins and normally has chicken or fish. Whereas, for dinner, he likes to keep it simple.
"I have rice or roti. Along with it, I will have some proteins again."
Although he is not much into junk food, he loves to eat biriyani.
"I tell my mom to make biriyani. That is another thing I love. It is homemade, so I can have it sometimes."