YONEX Thailand Open: Rankireddy/Shetty Set Admiration Aside
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty grew up idolising Lee Yong Dae, and for a while today at the YONEX Thailand Open the Indians were fending off the wares of the crafty Korean and his partner Kim Gi Jung.
· DEV SUKUMAR
However, Lee – some way off his best – started to falter as the match progressed, and the Indians kept things tight to close out their first round, 19-21 21-16 21-14.
“When we started playing badminton we used to idolise them, we used to love their game. We’ve played them once before, and we’ve played them in the Premier Badminton League as well. Beating them today, it feels really good, because we’re playing after 11 months, and we’re happy to be back,” said Shetty.
As a front court player himself, Shetty has observed Lee closely.