Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy keen to achieve ‘ultimate dream’ by winning medal at Paris 2024 Olympics

Indian men’s doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, who clinched the Swiss Open 2023 badminton crown recently, are already gunning for their ‘ultimate dream’ - a medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, ranked sixth in the men’s doubles badminton rankings, won their first title of the year, when they beat world No. 21 Chinese pair of Tan Qiang and Ren Xiang Yu in Basel.

With the title in their pocket, the Indian duo have set their eyes on next year's Summer Games.

“Paris is one of our favourite places on the BWF tour. So we really want to be there and get a medal for our country. That would be the ultimate dream,” Chirag Shetty said.

The Indian pair, who failed to make it to the knockouts at the 2020 Tokyo Games, are keen to make an impression during the qualification window for the upcoming Summer Games, which runs from May 1, 2023, to April 28, 2024.

“It was a wonderful experience playing at the 2020 Tokyo Games. It was our first Olympics,” said Satwiksairaj Rankireddy.

“In May, we will start the Olympic qualification, that’s why we don’t want to push now,” the Indian badminton player added, explaining the pair’s decision to forfeit their round 1 match at Madrid Spain Master 2023 on Wednesday, following an injury to Satwik.

The Commonwealth Games 2022 gold medal-winning pair also noted that the Swiss Open triumph will boost their confidence going into the qualifiers. “Winning the Swiss Open gave us a huge confidence boost as it was our first title of the year. We wanted to win a title and we are happy that we could win in Switzerland as the pool was quite strong,” said Chirag Shetty.

The doubles pair also had a word of praise for India’s young women’s doubles pair of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly. The pair, ranked 18th in the world, reached their second consecutive All England Open semi-finals when they made the last four of the Birmingham event this year. 

“Gayatri and Treesa have been playing some really good badminton. Starting with the Asian team championships this year, they have played some really good top-10 pairs. And even at the All England Open, the way they were playing, it’s really good for Indian badminton as a whole.With the Sudirman Cup coming up, the way our team is shaping up, we can actually go for a medal this time,” Chirag Shetty said.

The Sudirman Cup is scheduled to be held in Suzhou, China from May 14 to 21. India have been drawn with Malaysia, Chinese Taipei and Australia in the mixed team event.