New Delhi, September 17, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Indian badminton star Satwiksairaj Rankireddy said he and doubles partner Chirag Shetty have learned to manage their emotions on court, choosing to quickly move on from mistakes rather than allow frustration to affect their partnership.
Speaking during a virtual media interaction ahead of the Asian Games on Thursday, Satwik said the pair have become better at controlling their reactions over the years.
“No, we both don’t get angry quickly. We kind of adjust with that. I used to react before. If someone makes a mistake, if I do or Chirag does a mistake, I used to just react. But now I don’t react much. As in, it’s just a point. We are on to the next point,” Satwik said in response to an IANS query.
The 25-year-old shuttler explained that showing frustration towards a partner can affect the rhythm and understanding required in doubles, making it important to immediately refocus on the next rally.
“So, it became like a little mental thing also. Like, when you show emotions to your partner, it doesn’t gel well. So, it just needs to be like, think about the next point, next point. So, we don’t get angry. We never got angry on court till now. So, we never showed it either. We just move on to the next one,” he added.
Satwik said the same philosophy applies after defeats, with the pair preferring to look ahead instead of dwelling on a lost match.
“So, because we have so many points, we just don’t… Even with the loser match also, we’ll just say, Yeah, I’ll play next time. On to the next one,” he said.
Satwik and Chirag are preparing to defend the men’s doubles gold they won at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.
Recalling their experience before the final in Hangzhou, Satwik revealed that the magnitude of the occasion was so overwhelming that both players struggled to sleep the night before the match.
“I think I still remember the last, I mean, the night before the finals; I and Chirag couldn’t sleep actually. So around 1.30 or so, I woke up for the water. Then I heard a sound in Chirag’s room. Like I was telling myself, at least get some few hours of sleep at least,” he recalled.
“The next morning I asked Chirag, Shetty bhai, tu bhi soya nahi kya? Then he also said, like, ‘No, I also didn’t sleep.’ So I think we couldn’t sleep the before night,” Satwik added.
He described the Hangzhou campaign as one of the biggest moments of their careers, with India competing in the team event before moving into the individual competition.
“At that moment, I didn’t feel so much, but now I’m feeling like how great that moment was. For me, I leave it over there. Like whenever I finish winning there, that day was the winner. The next day is normal for me. But I think if we look back again, if you talk about those things, those moments, I think I feel goosebumps,” he said.
Satwik said he can still recall the national anthem being played after their historic victory in China.
“I still can hear that national anthem, winning Asian Games in China. I think it’s one of the biggest things. I think nobody would have dreamed that in doubles, badminton will win the Asian Games,” he added.
The Indian pair will enter the Asian Games after winning the men’s doubles title at the China Masters. Satwik and Chirag defeated China’s He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang 11-21, 21-13, 21-17 in the final to claim their 10th career BWF World Tour title.
Satwik says he and Chirag Shetty have learned to control emotions, move past mistakes and focus on the next point.
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