Badminton
Satwik-Chirag nominated for BWF Pair of the Year Award 2023
Satwik-Chirag, who won a historic maiden Asian Games gold medal for India in badminton, has enjoyed an outstanding year. They became world no. 1 in October on the back of Asiad gold and three World Tour titles.
Asian Games champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty (Source: CGTN)
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have been nominated for the coveted BWF Players of the Year Award 2023.
The world no. 5 Indian combo will compete for the Pair of the Year award.
The awards ceremony will be held during the annual HSBC BWF World Tour Finals Gala Dinner in Hangzhou, China, on December 11.
The nominees were ratified by the BWF Council and selected based on performances during the 2022-2023 season from November 1, 2022, to October 31, 2023.
Satwik-Chirag, who won a historic maiden Asian Games gold medal for India in badminton in Hangzhou in October, has enjoyed an outstanding year.
On the back of their Asian Games feat, the pair has also risen to the top of the BWF World Rankings in October. In achieving the feat, they also became the first Indian doubles pair to attain the pole of the world rankings.
Satwik-Chirag won the Swiss Open Super 300 in Basel in March for their first title of the year.
After a few poor outings, they put up a brilliant show to claim their maiden Super 1000 title at the Indonesia Open, where the Indian duo defeated their arch-nemesis Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in straight games.
Satwik-Chirag retained their blazing form to claim the Korea Open Super 500 by beating Indonesian duo Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto.
Their form would see a decline in the Japan Open, World Championships and China Open, but Satwik-Chirag delivered their best at the Asian Games, blowing away every challenge they faced. For the second time in a row, the Indian shuttlers thrashed Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in straight games to secure their place in the final.
Continuing their blitzkrieg form, Satwik-Chirag defeated Choi Solgyu and Kim Wonho of South Korea in the final, again in straight games.
In the Pair of the Year category, Satwik-Chirag will face tough competition from Chinese world champions Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan.
The BWF will award shuttlers in eight categories, including three for Para badminton.
Para shuttler Thulasimathi Murugesan, who won the Asian Para Games women's singles gold, has been nominated for the Female Para-Badminton Player of the Year award.
