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Badminton

Proud to be called king of delay: Chirag Shetty

Chirag Shetty's serves have left some deep scars in Indonesia, as indicated by the nickname that country has given him since the Thomas Cup.

Proud to be called king of delay: Chirag Shetty
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Chirag Shetty (foreground) in action (BAI)

By

The Bridge Desk

Updated: 14 Nov 2022 2:35 PM GMT

Chirag Shetty, one half of India's world-beating badminton doubles pair, says there is one thing about his 'fandom' in Indonesia which puzzles him - why they call him the 'king of delay'.

Speaking on an YouTube Live session on The Bridge on Monday, the 25-year-old said he wants to ask Indonesians what he has done to deserve this nickname.

"I have a name in Indonesia - king of delay. I don't know why, but that's what I have been called since the Thomas Cup. And I take pride in that," he said.

"I want to ask Indonesians, what have I done, just playing badminton, to deserve this name. All over my posts - even if I post a photo of me trekking in the hills - they still comment - 'King of delay'. There is no context."

Shetty said this trend started from the Thomas Cup earlier this year, where India beat Indonesia in the final to lift their first ever title. In that final, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had won 18-21, 23-21, 21-19 against Mohammad Ahsan and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo.

That match, it would seem, has left some deep scars in Indonesia, as seen from the comments left on Shetty's Instagram posts since then.

What these fans could be referring to is the time Chirag Shetty takes to serve after getting into position for the serve. Even the chair umpires are often heard asking him to hurry up with his serve.

According to the laws of badminton, "Neither side shall cause undue delay to the delivery of the service once the server and the receiver are ready for the service. On completion of the backward movement of the server's racket head, any delay in the start of the service (Law 9.2) shall be considered an undue delay."

Shetty does not fall foul of this rule as he sways his racket head sideways before the backward motion. However, it seems Indonesian fans are not happy.

You can watch the entire interaction here:


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