Chirag Shetty and R. Satwiksairaj are considered Olympic men’s doubles medal hopefuls, given the reputation they have built in the recent past with their attacking play.
What exactly do the pair, ranked World No.10, think about the Olympics? âMathias Boe’s intelligent training has really benefited us. Short sessions, fewer breaks, more focused and not too hard sessions but really good quality sessions, âsaid Satwiksairaj, 20.
âThanks to Boe, we are playing a lot better, with more confidence. We’ll have to see how it looks at the Olympics. I think the strengths are our attack. Definitely, we’ve changed our game a bit for the good. We’ll have to see how they work against opponents. A very good channel of communication between us is our strength, âhe said.
âChirag is playing a daring game even at crucial points, mostly generating winning points. He controls the game after 15 points, âSatwik said. âWe don’t think too much. We just want to do our best, change our tactics according to the situation and not invite any kind of pressure. ”
Lack of crowds
âThe lack of crowds is a downside, even though we’ve played a few tournaments and are used to the new normal. Maybe it’s more mechanical now, playing like any training session, âSatwik said with a big smile.
For his part, Chirag, 24, said the focus was initially on physical strength before focusing on training the defense on the pitch and selecting shots as the Games approach.
“Certainly I am looking forward to the Olympics which will be different, but we will take it like any other tournament,” he said. âOur strength is our attack that separates us from others. If we are able to create so many opportunities to attack, we will play our best, âhe said.
âI’ll be lying if I say there’s no pressure on us. But, if we both play our best. I think we have the game to beat anyone in the world, âChirag said.
âAt the Olympics, anything can happen. No one has the upper hand. Even the world No. 1 or No. 16 is equal. Whoever manages the pressure well will have an advantage, âhe concluded.