After beating Malaysians Man Wei Chong and Kai Wun Tee 23-21, 19-21, 21-16 in the first round of the $950,000 India Open here on Tuesday, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy gave partner Chirag Shetty a fist bump and embrace before running over to shake hands with a familiar face in the coach’s corner.
Tan Kim Her was grinning ear-to-ear, delighted to see his wards enter the second round of the Super 750 event after beating tricky opponents he knew well.
It was almost decade ago that the famous Malaysian coach decided to pair up Rankireddy and Shetty against their wishes. Tan had read the playing styles of the two shuttlers well enough to realise that they would click. Though they struggled initially, what happened next took Indian men’s doubles badminton to the top echelons of the sport.
Rankireddy and Shetty became the first Indian pair – across all three categories – to be ranked No.1 in the world; they became the first men’s doubles pair to medal at the World Championships and became the first Indian men’s doubles pair to win gold at both the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games apart from winning multiple elite tournaments on the BWF World Tour.
After Tan left, the pair flourished even more under Mathias Boe. But after the Dane quit post the Paris Olympics, Tan was brought back by the Badminton Association of India (BAI), reuniting him with the pair he initially brought together.
“It is great to have Tan coach back after six years. A lot of credit goes to him for all our achievements so far. We were youngsters back then. When he left we were in the top 20. He’s had a good five years with the Japan team. Now, the approach is a lot different than it was in 2016,” says Shetty.
“Now, we are quite established. Earlier, his coaching was a lot more directional. He just told us to do this or that. Now, it’s a lot more conversational. We discuss what needs to be done and he’ll give his opinion. It’s still early days as it’s just been a month. But happy to have him back.”
The world No.9 pair has already played one tournament under Tan, the Malaysia Open last week where they reached the semis. Here, they are hoping to go the distance, aiming to repeat their 2022 campaign when they won the India Open with the guidance of their 53-year-old coach.
“You need to have a bond with your coach. We used to call him daddy because he made us,” laughs Rankireddy. “The bond is the same as when he left. We trust him blindly. We are aiming to pick up from where he left and go deep in all tournaments.”
A month together and the changes are already visible with their defensive abilities kicking in at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex on Tuesday, very similar to the styles of Malaysian coaches or players who excel at defending.
“It’s those minor changes that really matter. Everybody knows how to smash or drop. Tactical improvements here and there is what we need to focus on. That’s what we will do with Tan coach, like improve our defence, which is good but probably not the best in the world,” said Shetty.
“He asks us what needs to be worked upon and then gives his opinion, which didn’t happen when we were 18-19 years old. That time as junior athletes we didn’t really have a direction per se, where you know what to do and what not to.”
The seventh seeds will take on Japan’s Kenya Mitsuhashi and Hiroki Okamura in the second round on Thursday.
Elite players fall
Reigning world champion and 2023 India Open winner Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand was upset, losing to Japan Open champion Alex Lanier. The 19-year-old Frenchman beat the fourth seed 21-11, 14-21, 21-14 in 67 minutes.
Reigning Asian Games gold medallist and 2023 All England Open champion Li Shi Feng also fell in the first round, losing 21-18, 17-21, 17-21 to Malaysia’s Leong Jun Hao.
In women’s singles, Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand overcame Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 21-13, 21-15 in a battle between two former world champions.
The biggest upset in doubles took place when top seeds and reigning World Tour Finals champions Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark lost 22-20, 19-21, 16-21 to South Korea’s Jin Yong and Kang Min Hyuk.
Late to land, Srikanth gives walkover
Having got an entry into the men’s singles draw late on Monday after reigning champion and top seed Shi Yu Qi of China pulled out, former champion Kidambi Srikanth gave a walkover to Weng Hong Yang of China.
The reason – the former world No.1’s flight got delayed because of which he wasn’t able to reach the national capital in time for the match.
“Srikanth was not travelling from Hyderabad. Due to his flight getting delayed, he could not reach on time,” said Badminton Association of India (BAI) secretary general Sanjay Mishra.
While Srikanth won the Super 750 tournament a decade ago, the 31-year-old has dropped to No.45 in the world rankings because of which he failed to get a direct entry.
Kiran George, the other Indian to be promoted from the reserve list after Indonesian eighth seed Anthony Sinisuka Ginting pulled out, beat Japan’s Yushi Tanaka 21-19, 14-21, 27-25 to advance to Round 2.
