Why Satwiksairaj Rankireddy didn’t dance to celebrate historic Indonesian Open win? He’s hungry for more

“This part of my life, this little part, is called happiness”
pic.twitter.com/AcLDiKmHhx

— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) June 18, 2023

The assurance to attack and not hold back came from the Indian pair’s confidence in their defence, as they lifted the shuttle knowing they could parry the Malaysian thrusts. Aaron-Soh had no answers to the relentless steep, hard smashing of Rankireddy and Shetty, and barely strung together attacks of their own through the match anyway.

“We didn’t want to play their flat, fast game that suits them. We decided to open up the court and saw how they started making mistakes,” Shetty said.

In the quarter-finals, the Indians had upset the World No 1 pairing of Alfian and Adrianto but beating the world champions from Malaysia enhanced their reputation.

Winning at the Istora Senayan, with its badminton adoring packed crowds, is considered special in the sport – it adds to the aura and amplifies the creed. With this significant triumph, Rankireddy and Shetty are now medal favourites for the Asian Games this year and Paris Olympics in 2024.

How’s the josh? 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐬𝐢𝐫 🤩🕺

📸: @badmintonphoto #IndonesiaOpen2023#IndonesiaOpenSuper1000#IndiaontheRise#Badminton pic.twitter.com/VixFXHrpAk

— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) June 18, 2023

The Indians also kept up with their winning record in finals, having now secured 8 of the 10 finals they have contested at an impressive 80 per cent conversion rate. The reigning Asian Champions have now won titles in Thailand, Indonesia, India, Swiss and the French Open, besides their finals wins at Thomas Cup and CWG. The pair last lost a summit clash in 2019.

The win on Sunday makes them one of the most consistent athletes in India, having also won the bronze at the World Championships.

The Indians were not in the best of forms heading into the Indonesia Open, having suffered early exits in the last tournament in Singapore. “The last two tournaments were like a wake-up call after we lost early,” Rankireddy said later. “The whole team of coaches and physios were working day and night for us, especially on my injury prone body.”

Into the history books, again 😍🏆

📸: @badmintonphoto@himantabiswa | @sanjay091968 | @lakhaniarun1 #IndonesiaOpen2023#IndonesiaOpenSuper1000#IndiaontheRise#Badminton pic.twitter.com/ELNFTIPlsi

— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) June 18, 2023

After a stuttering start, the Indians came back strong in the game and never looked back. Their dominance was evident at 7-8 when despite colliding on the court, Shetty carved out a cross winner in the point. The Malaysians appeared spooked by the attacking intent of the Indians and never recovered from the early smashing, which stayed effective till the end. Rankireddy and Shetty also exploited the Malaysian nerves as their opponents were yet to win a title on the World Tour and were bound to be scratchy in their attack.

Rankireddy later said that he does not feel like dancing in celebration these days because he is hungry for more titles. “I felt like it was a new day, new opponents. I wasn’t thinking about the 0-8 head to head,” he said. “I thought the pressure of finals is the same on both the teams. We were playing really well so I decided to focus on ourselves.”

Shetty reiterated how the Indians had stuck to their plan despite starting slow. “We knew they would make mistakes. We didn’t really give them a chance to come back. We decided we won’t play safe because that becomes slow which is playing into their hands. We attacked.”