“This is for you”- Satwik dedicates Indonesia Open title to Dad on Father’s Day

India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (right) and Chirag Shetty (left) celebrate after their victory over Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the men’s doubles final at Indonesia Open at Istora Senayan Stadium in Jakarta on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: AP

“This is for you, Dad,” was one of the first reactions of champion doubles shuttler R. Satwiksairaj after he, with his partner Chirag Shetty, created history by becoming the first Indian pair to win the BWF Super 1000 Indonesia Open men’s doubles title on Sunday.

Satwik, who didn’t speak to his father a day before the final but was chatting with his mother to whom he expressed complete confidence of winning the final, was apparently delighted for his triumph coming on Father’s Day.

The champion doubles shuttler also told his father that the presence of chief national coach P. Gopi Chand also made a huge difference besides the omnipresent doubles coach Mathias Boe’s invaluable guidance.

“We stuck to the plan. We felt they are humans, they are players, and they will also make mistakes. We stuck to the plan right till the end and never really gave them a chance to come back,” he said.

“Even in the second game when they took a couple of points, we were like we don’t have to hold ourselves back and play safe. That would have made the game a little slow and they are good at capitalising on the same. I’m really happy and we really needed this win,” commented Chirag Shetty.

“For the past few tournaments, I didn’t feel like dancing because I felt more hungry. We have won this tournament, and next week we have another. We go back and reset,” Satwik said.

“But, I am still happy with the way we played. It felt like a new day, playing new opponents. We were down 8-0 in head-to-head, but I wasn’t thinking much about it. I thought to myself this was a final and both teams were under pressure and if we play well, we will win. We were under control when we got a strike in the first game. I said to myself it’s our day, don’t panic and just play like any other final,” he explained.

BAI general secretary Sanjay Mishra said it was a historic and fantastic victory for India. “And, this is also a testament to how fast Indian badminton is climbing the doubles ladder globally. Also, a big applause for the coaches and the support staff for ensuring such consecutive performances,” he said.