No long-term goals, just stay injury-free ahead of World Championships: Satwiksairaj-OxBig News Network

Indian shuttler Satwiksairaj Rankireddy said that he and Chirag Shetty aren’t keeping any long-term goals in mind at the moment and are focused on remaining fit for next month’s World Championships. Satwik and Chirag have reached three semifinals this season, and also a quarterfinal finish at the Indonesia Open last month.

After entering the last four stages of the Malaysia Open and India Open in January, the Indian duo found themselves sidelined for several weeks due to Satwik’s health concerns and Chirag’s persistent back injury. They made their return to the circuit with a semifinal appearance at the Singapore Open and a quarterfinal showing in Indonesia.

The former world No. 1 pair began their Japan Open Super 750 campaign by cruising past Korea’s Kang Min Hyuk and Kim Won Ho with a scoreline of 21-18, 21-10. Speaking after the win, as quoted by PTI, Satwik said that the duo have faced issues with injury over the past year. However, he said that they were pleased with the results despite their fitness struggles.

“For us, it’s to get fit 100%. It’s always up and down. Once he’s better, I’ll have some niggles. Once I’m better, he’s having some niggles. So we haven’t played without injury from past one year. So we have been struggling with niggles,” said Satwik.

“Still, we are managing to play some good quality games. So that is a positive side. But right now, our aim is to get injury-free and be healthy all the time.”

The Japan Open will be followed by the China Open Super 1000 before the top stars head to Paris for the World Championships, which will take place from August 25 to 31. Satwik said it has been injuries that has held them back for some time now and were happy to take the break after the Singapore Open.

“Just not thinking so much ahead. No goals as of now. Obviously, we want to do well, but at the same time, we want to be healthy,” Satwik added.

“And once we are healthy, I know we can do that. So the only thing is injuries are holding us, restricting our game. But right now, we are both feeling good because we had a break after Singapore. Both are really fit enough, so we’ll see how it goes.”

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