At the 2009 Badminton World Championships in Hyderabad, a father in the stands stretched hand and caught a racquet that men’s doubles world champion Cai Yun had flung away after winning the title.
Seventeen years later, the boy who grew up with that racquet is Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, one half of India’s best ever badminton duo with Chirag Shetty, and the official who caught the racquet was his late father Kasi Viswanadham.
“I was recalling that moment some days back. It all started with the racquet my father caught. I had no idea whose racquet it was,” Satwik told The Indian Express. “However, now I realise how big it was. It’s been a long journey and playing in India at the World Championships is kind of surreal as my journey started with a racquet from Worlds.”
His elder brother Ramcharan Rankireddy, who served as a volunteer during the event, recalled the sequence of events. “My father was in the stands and he had a habit of collecting racquets. So when the Chinese shuttler threw it after winning the title, my father caught it and had to hide it from others behind his t-shirt like a sword,” he told this paper.
After Satwik’s father caught the racquet, the current world number five won multiple state and district medals with the racquet. “That was his (Satwik’s) first racquet. He won many tournaments with it,” Ramcharan said.
While everybody suggested Kasi keep it as a memory, the financial struggles of the family meant that the keepsake came into use. “We were not financially stable at that time, so instead of keeping it we decided to use it. I remember stringing it multiple times for Satwik,” said Ram.
Apart from being a catalyst in Satwik’s journey to the elite level, the 2009 edition also served as an inspiration for young Indian shuttlers like HS Prannoy and B Sumeeth Reddy who went on to become Olympians.
A photo posted two months back by Badminton Association of India shows Prannoy and Sumeeth peeking from the crowd as two young boys.
Fascinated by stars
One of top doubles player in India during his playing career, Sumeeth, was also watching the men’s doubles final and that is where the score in the final game fascinated him.
Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng won their second world title defeating Jung Jae-sung and Lee Yong-dae of Korea. The final was a thrilling contest with the deciding game ending with a score of 28-26 sparking wild celebrations from the Chinese duo.
“The final game of the men’s doubles was the most memorable for me. It was a brilliant match. And I remember cheering constantly along with HS,” recalls Sumeeth.
Prannoy, who shifted to Hyderabad in 2008, was excited to watch up close the legends he had only seen on VCRs sent by his uncle from Singapore.
“It was extraordinary for somebody like me. I had shifted to Hyderabad the previous year and watching all these legends like Lin Dan, Sony and ofcourse Taufik Hidayat was an unreal experience,” Prannoy told this masthead.
Prannoy, who would later go on to win a bronze medal at the 2023 edition, mentioned how the viewing experience changed him. “I watched these guys way too closely for the first time in my career at that point. And that made a huge difference to be honest. I think that memory kind of gave the belief to work harder going forward. The next few years were something which I think I learned a lot from that entire week,” said Prannoy.
Similarly, Sumeeth started executing his learnings immediately. “We were doing our sessions and watching the World Championships also. We would replicate the strokes, movements and situations during our sessions,” he said.
The experience of the 2009 Worlds played a role in shaping India’s first batch of badminton superstars.
Bomb scare
However, everything was not rosy at the 2009 edition and the English badminton team featuring Olympic doubles silver medallist Nathan Robertson, pulled out of the tournament with the shadow of the dreaded Lashkar-e-Toiba looming over the tournament.
As officials from Indian intelligence agencies visited the Gachibowli Stadium, several teams examined the security protocols.
The 2008 Mumbai attacks and attack on Sri Lankan Test team in Pakistan made things more speculative once the news came out.
While other teams like China, Malaysia, and Denmark were satisfied with the protocols, the English team along with the Austrian pair of Peter Zauner and Jurgen Koch pulled out.
Ramcharan, who served as a volunteer during the championships, remembers the sequence. “I was one of the team bus managers. I think during the early days, I was designated for the English team bus and after a few days of practice, they stopped coming,” recalled Ram. “I wondered what happened to them. There was no social media back then for quick updates. Later, we came to know that they had left due to the terror attack scare.”
India’s badminton prowess is at a different level from what it was back in 2009. As the world’s best descend in New Delhi for another edition from August 17, one would hope that next-gen Prannoy, Sumeeth and Satwik are present in the stands.
Men's singles title winner Lin Dan (center) with runner up Chen Jin. (Photo by Sumeeth Reddy). In the last sitting row: HS Prannoy (first from right) and B Sumeeth Reddy (second from right) watching the tournament. Credit: BAI 
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