CHENNAI: It is not easy to be ranked No 1 in any sport. It requires a lot of hard work, dedication and consistency over a period of time.
Satwiksairaj was in the city as a chief guest of the Nippon Paint Under-19 badminton tournament. He took a break and shared his thoughts on the Paris Olympics and his journey to becoming the World No1.The duo had an exceptional 2022 winning the India Open and played a crucial role in India’s historic maiden victory at the Thomas Cup. They became the first Indian doubles pair to win Commonwealth Games gold, the first to medal at the World Championships and again the first to win a Super 750 event.
Last year too they were formidable, winning India’s first-ever doubles gold at the Asian Games. Naturally, with Paris Olympics looming, expectations are high. ”We have not started yet preparing for the Olympics.
We see it (Olympics) as a big picture, as we have many more tournaments before Olympics. The All England is coming up, we want to do well. And then we have theThomas Cup, defending it will be very, very special for all of us. We will focus on the Olympics after a few more events,” said Satwiksairaj. ”Back in the mind we have a thought of preparing for Olympics, but we haven’t started anything special.”