Satwiksairaj Rankireddy bereaved as his father passes away hours before Khel Ratna ceremony

Satwik, currently in the national capital for the 43rd PSPB Inter-Unit badminton tournament, was scheduled to receive the prestigious Khel Ratna award on Thursday

New Delhi: Asian Games champion shuttler Satwiksairaj Rankireddy’s father R Kasi Viswanatham died of cardiac arrest on Thursday morning.

Satwik, currently in the national capital for the 43rd PSPB Inter-Unit badminton tournament, was scheduled to receive the prestigious Khel Ratna award on Thursday. His father, a retired physical education teacher, was set to travel to join him for the ceremony but tragically passed away before he could make the trip.

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“It is extremely sad and unfortunate that Satwik has lost his father this morning,” said a source close to the family.

The 24-year-old from Amalapuram will depart for Andhra Pradesh this afternoon to be with his family. Satwik, who forms a formidable men’s doubles pair with Chirag Shetty, has been a trailblazer in Indian badminton. The duo, which won gold at the 2022 Asian Games, the 2022 Commonwealth Games, and the 2023 Asian Championships, is the only Indian doubles pair to hold the No. 1 spot in the BWF World Rankings and win a BWF World Tour Super 1000 title.

In 2023, Satwik also set a Guinness World Record for the fastest badminton smash by a male player, reaching a speed of 565 km/h. He had shared a heartwarming video on social media featuring his father unwrapping his Guinness World Record certificate.