Playing after long gap was challenging: Satwik
Doubles player rates his performance with Ashwini in mixed doubles as the best in his career
Hyderabad: Indian doubles player Satwiksairaj Rankireddy had a heady run in the Thailand Open reaching semifinals in both men’s and mixed doubles categories. Though he was one step away from the titles, the youngster was delighted with the way he performed, especially returning after a long gap due to coronavirus pandemic.
Satwik had just over one and half month on-court training ahead of this tournament at the national camp in Hyderabad. “I was all excited before playing the first match after such a long gap. Though we didn’t have the best of results in the first tournament (Yonex Thailand Open), our main aim was to see where we stand in terms of our game. Playing after such a long gap was definitely challenging. But we are happy with our overall performance. Of course, the results could have been definitely better,” he said from Bangkok.
Having played back-to-back tournaments, he said their game is on par with other shuttlers. “We knew we were fit physically. But we didn’t have much on-court preparation compared to other shuttlers from other countries. We were confined to our homes while they practiced. So overall, we did good. In fact, Indian players looked fitter than many foreign players in this tournament. Almost everyone is playing at the same level.”
Speaking about his on-court performance, he rated his performance with Ashwini Ponnappa in the Toyota Thailand Open as his best in his career. “I have a very good communication and understanding with Chirag Shetty and we know our game in and out. We gave our 100 per cent on the court. The second tournament was more satisfying in terms of our game. Our match against Koreans (Solgyu Choi and Seung Jae Seo) in the pre-quarterfinals was our best and while playing that match, we had a feeling that we were back to our best like we were in 2019.”
“But the biggest boost from this tour was the performance in the mixed doubles. We played so many close matches. Earlier, when we were down in a match, I used to think we couldn’t stage a comeback. But with Ashwini akka on the court, she always motivates and keeps fighting hard. She says we can bounce back from any position. And we saw that happening many times in this tournament. After the Commonwealth Games final, this will stand as our best show. For me, the biggest takeaway is trusting your partner and the importance of communication,” he added.
He also revealed that he had a stomach upset on the semifinal day. “Playing back-to-back matches was never a problem. But I had a stomach upset the night before and was struggling before the men’s doubles match. So I could not give my best. But I was all right after taking tablets before the mixed doubles match,” revealed the 20-year-old.
Life in bio-bubble
Speaking about the life in bio-bubble, Satwik, who had recovered from coronavirus in August last, said he had no issues. “But other players were all disturbed. When I had the virus, I was in isolation for almost 25 days. So I am used to it. Of course, it gets frustrating especially when we were not allowed to warm up ahead of the matches. We were not meeting anyone for lunch or dinner and were not allowed to go to the other player’s room. Being idle in the room also affected our game in the first tournament. It used to take one whole game to warm up ourselves,” he revealed.
He also lauded the Badminton Association of Thailand for taking extra precautions in conducting the tournament. But when Saina Nehwal and HS Prannoy returned with false positive reports, there was chaos in the Indian camp. “We were seen like thieves when other teams came to know that Saina and Prannoy tested positive. It was not their fault. We would have reacted the same way as well. We were playing a match and our coach, who had helped Saina warm up before her game, was taken away from the court. It was a difficult moment,” he recalled.
Satwik, however, will be out of action for at least a month as they failed to qualify for next week’s World Tour Finals. “We didn’t play many tournaments in 2020. So we didn’t make it to the World Tour Finals,” he informed.
Also read:
Thailand Open: Satwik’s dream run ends in semis
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