Flight Delayed, Srikanth Gives Walkover in RD1

It was Tan Kim Her who paired them in his first stint as coach in India; they hope he can raise their level

- Sandip Sikdar

NEW DELHI: After beating Malaysians Man Wei Chong and Kai Wun Tee 23-21, 19-21, 21-16 in the first round of the $950,000 India Open here on Tuesday, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy gave partner Chirag Shetty a fist bump and embrace before running over to shake hands with a familiar face in the coach's corner.

Tan Kim Her was grinning ear-to-ear, delighted to see his wards enter the second round of the Super 750 event after beating tricky opponents he knew well.

It was almost a decade ago that the famous Malaysian coach decided to pair up Rankireddy and Shetty against their wishes. Tan had read the playing styles of the two shuttlers well enough to realize that they would click. Though they struggled initially, what happened next took Indian men's doubles badminton to the top echelons of the sport.

Rankireddy and Shetty became the first Indian pair - across all three categories - to be ranked No. 1 in the world; they became the first men's doubles pair to medal at the World Championships and became the first Indian men's doubles pair to win gold at both the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games apart from winning multiple elite tournaments on the BWF World Tour.

After Tan left, the pair flourished even more under Mathias Boe. But after the Dane quit post the Paris Olympics, Tan was brought back by the Badminton Association of India (BAI), reuniting him with the pair he initially brought together.

"It is great to have Tan coach back after six years. A lot of credit goes to him for all our achievements so far. We were youngsters back then. When he left we were in the top 20. He's had a good five years with the Japan team. Now, the approach is a lot different than it was in 2016," says Shetty.