Satwik was gutted after his game: Father

The Satwik-Chirag pair had two wins from three games but Chinese Taipei advanced on better game difference.

Hyderabad: The early exit from Olympics devastated Indians doubles duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s after they lost out on games difference despite having two wins in men’s doubles Group A league on Tuesday. This was revealed by Satwik’s father R Kasi Viswanatham.

Speaking to Telangana Today, the retired physical education teacher, said Satwik was emotionally drained after their ouster. “He was a bit emotional and disappointed. Obviously he was gutted. Everyone will have that feeling because they have performed well. His voice was very dull and we could feel he was breaking down while speaking to us after their last league match on Tuesday. But we consoled him saying that the performance was very good and these are all part of the game.”

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The Satwik-Chirag pair had two wins from three games but Chinese Taipei advanced on better game difference. Viswanatham added that they were very happy with son’s overall performance. “His performance was very good. It was just bad luck (to miss out on a knockout berth). We are very happy with the way he played. For us, playing for Indian at the biggest stage like the Olympics itself is a big achievement. They defeated World No.3 in the first match. We are very happy with his overall performance,” he added.

Both Viswanatham and mother Rangamani moved to Hyderabad for Satwik to provide him with home food before the Olympics while he was sweating it out for the event. “We both shifted to Hyderabad to provide him that home environment and food before the big tournament,” he added.

Satwik started playing badminton at a young age when he was attracted to the game when he saw while accompanying his father to the ground in Amalapuram. When asked whether he had thought Satwik would represent India at the Olympics one day when he started playing as a youngster, he said, “I never thought he would play in the Olympics. It all started when he joined Gopichand Academy. He started performing well. His earlier coach Tan (Kim Her) also assured us that he would play for India in big tournaments if Satwik continues to play well. When he won medals at the Commonwealth Games (in 2018) that is when we as parents thought he could be playing in the Olympics one day. We (with Satwik) had a chat about the Olympics after his CWG performance and discussed what the next target would be.”

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