‘An Item Ticked Off Our Bucket List’
It might not have had the strongest of draws but for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, the YONEX-SUNRISE India Open 2022 win counted above all his previous accomplishments. After saving five game points in the final against…
· DEV SUKUMAR
It might not have had the strongest of draws but for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, the YONEX-SUNRISE India Open 2022 win counted above all his previous accomplishments. After saving five game points in the final against Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan, the Indian duo exploded in delight.
“For me it’s a special tournament,” said Rankireddy, struggling to express the enormity of what he felt. “More than the Thailand Open (2019) and the Commonwealth Games (team gold) -- I didn’t feel that much excitement on court like this. We’ve won other tournaments, but today was so important. In Indonesia we’ve seen the Minions win almost every tournament in Indonesia, so we wondered why we couldn’t win the India Open. It was there in my bucket list, I really wanted to win this in my career. I’d prepared my mind like that. I told myself to keep calm, that we would get our chances.”
For his partner Chirag Shetty, their tactical outmanoeuvring of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan was evidence that they had finally broken through to an even higher level.