October 10th 2023.
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On Tuesday, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, India's dynamic men's doubles duo, achieved a historic milestone as they became the first Indian pair to reach number one in the Badminton World Federation Rankings.
The pair, affectionately known to fans as 'Sat-Chi', made the jump of two spots after winning gold at the men's doubles competition at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. They join Prakash Padukone, Saina Nehwal, and Kidambi Srikanth as the fourth Indians to achieve the top ranking.
The Badminton Association of India acknowledged the duo's achievement, stating that they "jumped up two spots to achieve their best-ever career-high rank of World No. 1 in the latest BWF World Rankings."
Since 2022, the pair has won five BWF World Tour titles, beginning with the Indian Open in January 2022. This was followed by the French Open and then the Swiss Open, Indonesia Open, and Korea Open in 2023. The Indonesia Open title win was particularly special as they defeated the second-seeded Malaysian pair of Aaron Chia and Wooi Yik Soh to clinch India's first-ever BWF Super 1000 World Tour title.
Not only did Satwiksairaj and Chirag contribute to India's historic Thomas Cup win, but they also brought home Commonwealth Games gold in the men's doubles category, beating the local pair of Ben Lane and Sean Vardy in two games straight. The pair was also part of the mixed team competition, in which they won silver.
As India looks ahead to the 2024 Paris Olympics, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are shaping up to be the nation's biggest hope for a medal.
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