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At the Officers Recreation Club in Amalapuram, Andhra Pradesh, star Indian doubles shuttler Satwiksairaj Rankireddy was up and about till 5 am on Saturday morning. Long days and late nights are part of a professional athlete’s career, but on this day, Satwik wasn’t playing a tournament.
He was making sure that all arrangements were in order at Sports Kasi Badminton Academy for the memorial tournament he and his brother Ramcharan were organising over the weekend to honour their late father, Rankireddy Kasiviswanadham.
“Satwik was there all night from Friday till Saturday morning. He was doing the court markings and taping. I was surprised. I told him, ‘arrey, you are World No.4, why are you doing all this?’ But whatever was needed, he was doing it,” Ramcharan chuckles.
“This is where I started practising,” Satwik adds in a conversation with The Indian Express. “The venue is around 50 years old. It used to be a marriage hall-cum-badminton court, and had cement flooring. So whenever there used to be a wedding, it was an off day for us from training.”
It was the venue for around 100 badminton players who turned up to play in three categories – men’s doubles, mixed doubles and men’s doubles for those aged above 40 – travelling from around the state. Such memorial events, Satwik recalls, used to take place regularly in the area and Kasiviswanadham was at the heart of organising them over the years.
Last February, the respected physical education teacher and a passionate mentor for sports in their hometown died of a cardiac arrest, leaving a gaping hole in Satwik’s life.
Satwiksairaj (standing) speaking at the inauguration event of his father’s memorial event, with a photo of him and his father in the background. (Photo: Special arrangement)
“We had a tournament a couple of years back when father was still around. It was a grand success when we just had men’s doubles. He knew how to organise events, manage people and was even umpiring the matches,” Satwik recalls. “We have just started this now and are not in a hurry to make it grand right away. We know there is time for that. The chief guest at the inauguration was Ankamma Chowdary, Andhra Pradesh Badminton Association secretary and Badminton Association of India joint secretary. He has told us that if everything goes well, they’ll allot an official state tournament to Amalapuram soon.”
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After having a trial team tournament in December, Satwik and Ramcharan knew they were ready to kick things off on a small scale, with the shuttler insisting that they didn’t force people to come from far away. Satwik said that they ensure good accommodation and food for the participants, remembering going to tournaments as a kid and being frustrated due to lack of such facilities.
“We arranged some service apartments, and a marriage hall as well. And then some local friends’ homes. We served good food three times a day for nearly 300 people, not just the players,” Ramcharan informed.
Not an easy task
He used to watch Kasiviswanadham, when he was a PE teacher at a nearby village, organise a popular volleyball event in the area every Sivarathri, It continues even now. Back in the day, with no mobile phones to call and invite players, they travelled to LB Stadium in Hyderabad, where Services and Railways players trained.
“My dad would ask them individually to come and play. During that time, even (PV) Sindhu’s father PV Ramana sir used to play. It was a village event and had pure mass vibes. He (father) organised so many of these and now, when we are doing his memorial, we got to know how difficult it can be.”
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Satwiksairaj helps with arrangements before his father’s memorial event. (Photo: Special arrangement)
Satwik, after winning his World Championships bronze medal with Chirag Shetty last year in Paris, spoke about how he thought of his father when he stood on the podium and saw the Indian flag go up.
“Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about him,” he says. “There were many life situations when I used to talk to him. Feels like I have only a limited number of people to talk to now. Game-wise, I know how to manage, and there are all the coaches and Chirag I can talk to, but personal life is different. We are somehow managing, and the good thing is that my mom is very strong.”
Satwik says he finds himself waking up late at night during tournaments and crying for no reason. “I went to my friend’s wedding in Nasik last week, and started crying there too. When the sangeet was taking place, and the parents of the groom and the bride were dancing… and I was thinking that dad used to dance a lot at everyone’s sangeet.”
It might be a small badminton tournament for those in Amalapuram and around the districts of Andhra Pradesh, but for Satwik and Ramcharan, it means the world, and they insist this is only the start.
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“We want to continue this as his legacy,” the shuttler says.
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