Satwiksairaj Rankireddy feted by Guinness World Records for Fastest Badminton Hit

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, who pairs up with Chirag Shetty in men's doubles, has officially been feted by the Guinness World Records for the fastest smash ever achieved in badminton by a male shuttler on Sunday.

At a ceremony on the sidelines of the Japan Open Super 750, Satwik, who lost in the quarterfinals to Lee Yang and Wang Chin-Lin on Friday, has been presented with the certificate for the 'Fastest Badminton Hit' for his latest achievement. Satwik attended the ceremony via a video call.

Satwik broke the decade-old male smash record, stood at 493 km/h, held by Malaysian shuttler Tan Boon Heong, a former Asian Games doubles gold medallist, on April 14 this year.

The 22-year-old achieved the feat in controlled conditions conducted by Yonex at its factory gymnasium in Soka, Saitama, Japan. The speed measurement results were verified by official judges from the Guinness World Records, confirming Satwik's place in history.

Satwik has been frequently hitting above 500 km/hour smashes in matches too. In the Korea Open quarterfinals, Satwik hit a 500 km/hour smash against Japanese Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi en route to their 21-14, 21-17 win.

To put Satwik's smash blitzkrieg into context, the fastest speed recorded by a Formula 1 car is 397.48 km/hour while the fastest tennis serve maxes out at 263 km/hour.

The Indian's hit is the fastest smash in badminton irrespective of gender. The record for the fastest smash (438km/h) by a female is held by Malaysian doubles star Pearly Tan, who pairs up with Thinaah Muralitharan.

In men's singles, Lakshya Sen holds the record for the fastest smash. The world no. 12 Indian registered a phenomenal 420 km/h smash during the final of the Canada Open Super 500. The record for the fastest smash in women's singles is held by Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand at 372 km/h.