Winning Singapore Open after two years makes it a special week for us: Chirag Shetty

HYDERABAD: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have not only ended their losing streak but also the 34-match winning streak of world champions Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae of Korea on their way to Singapore Open glory on Sunday.“Winning a tournament after two years makes it a special week for us. Beating Kim-Seo, the most consistent pair over the last year, is even more special. In fact, we have come close to beating them the two times we faced them. But ending their winning streak, I didn’t know it was 34-match, was good,” Chirag said.

Recently, they have also received virtual assistance from Mathaias Boe, the Danish Olympic medallist-cum-coach, who trained them before Tan Her returned for a second stint after the Paris Olympic disappointment.“Mathaias is now assisting us virtually. All four of us (two players and coaches) have figured out what should be done. It has been helping us a lot,” Chirag said.Satwik said that injuries and personal setbacks have affected them over the last few months. “When we were peaking, we suddenly had an injury or a personal setback. We know injuries are part and parcel of the sport. Over the years, we learnt how to get on with all these things,” Satwik said, adding that not having good sparring partners in India has been affecting them.

“Like in Indonesia, China, Malaysia or Korea we don’t have good sparring partners to practice in India. It definitely affected our performance, particulary, when we face lefthanded shuttlers. After we lost early at the All England this year, we had a two-day session with an Indonesian pair and the results were quite good.“Hopefully, we will get some good doubles teams in India as well,” Satwik added.