Satwiksairaj Rankireddy: 24 and ready for more

There are very few players on the international badminton circuit that possess the power and racquet speed that Satwiksairaj Rankireddy does.

With Chirag Shetty in tow, Rankireddy has well and truly catapulted Indian men's doubles to the limelight.

From topping the world charts to racking up historic wins, Rankireddy's journey thus far has been nothing short of stellar.

And as the badminton powerhouse turns 24 today, we take a quick look at some of the defining moments of his career.

1. First junior title

Satwik was born to a former state-level badminton player Kasi Vishwanath, while his mother ran the house.

Not surprisingly, Satwik’s elder brother Ramcharan Rankireddy is also a badminton player.

Satwik picked up Badminton early at the age of six. A few years later, he won the first title of his career at the Sub-Junior State Badminton Championships in the U-13 category.

Later, in 2014, he joined the Gopichand Badminton Academy, where he trained under the former badminton player and national coach Pullela Gopichand and never looked back.

2. Transition to seniors

Soon after joining the Gopichand Academy, Satwik won his first national doubles title with Krishna Prasad Garaga at the Sub-Junior Nationals Badminton in the U-17 category.

In 2015, Satwiksairaj and Krishna Prasad Garaga claimed their first International Gold medal in the U-17 Boys’ Doubles at the Asian Junior Badminton Championship.

Satwik also represented India at the World Junior Mixed Team Championships in 2015, where India finished 9th.

That year, he won his first senior international title with mixed doubles partner Kukkapalli Maneesha at the Tata Open India International.

Satwik continued his progress and won the Tata Open India International and Mauritius International in early 2016.

In November 2016, Satwiksairaj won his maiden senior national doubles title with Chirag Shetty.

He doubled that victory up with a mixed doubles title with Kullapalli Maneesha at the 81st Senior National Badminton Championships in Patna, Bihar.

3. The Satwik-Chirag pair blossoms

The Indian badminton duo, Satwik-Chirag, owe their origins to Malaysian coach Tan Kim Her's keen eye.

In 2016, during a training camp at the Gopichand Academy, the Malaysian noticed the potential of pairing the duo together.

Although initially hesitant, the duo soon proved Kim’s intuition correct.

Since then, there has been no stopping Satwik and Chirag.

They are the first Indian men's doubles pair to achieve the World No. 1 ranking, win a BWF World Tour 1000 title, and clinch gold at the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and Asian Championships.

Their Asian Games triumph, as Pullela Gopichand noted, was a feat even harder than winning the Olympics, highlighting their remarkable journey and extraordinary achievements.

Satwik, along with Chirag and the Indian men’s Badminton team won the 2022 Thomas Cup.

Satwik-Chirag performed exceptionally and won three consecutive matches in the knock-outs against top pairs of Malaysia, Denmark, and Indonesia.

4. Fastest smash in the world

Satwik interestingly has a Guinness World Record attributed to him for the fastest shuttle hit ever recorded by a man, registering an astonishing 565 km/h with his smash.

Rankireddy, who recently clinched the Indonesia Open Super 1000 title alongside his partner Chirag Shetty, surpassed the decade-long record previously held by Malaysian shuttler Tan Boon Heong, whose 2013 smash had reached a speed of 493 km/h.

5. Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna and Arjuna Awards

Satwik's achievements in badminton were first recognized by the second-highest sporting award in the country when in 2020, he received the Arjuna Award, a moment he described with great pride as "extra special."

Satwik, along with Chirag excelled further and earned the highest sporting honor in India, the Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in 2023.

This award recognized his historic achievements alongside Chirag Shetty, including India's first-ever gold in badminton at the Asian Games, the Asian Championships title, and the Indonesia Open Super 1000 title.