Was dying to get back on court: Satwik

Disappointment of an early exit in Paris and the constant pain in the body during his injury lay-off troubled the badminton ace

- Rutvick Mehta

Through the "extremely up and down" last three months that Satwiksairaj Rankireddy describes his post-Olympics period as, there is one thing that brings a smile on his face.

"Just playing badminton after a while felt so good," he told HT in a chat. "It had been too long. It felt even longer in the first match."

This was at the BWF China Masters last month, the only tournament that Satwik and Chirag Shetty have competed in since their quarter-final exit in Paris. India's top doubles pair plan to turn up for the Malaysia Open in less than a month's time, Satwik said, after having started working with Malaysian coach Tan Kim Her in Hyderabad and giving the Syed Modi tournament in Lucknow a miss.

That was down to "some niggles for both of us", said Satwik. It's something the 24-year-old has been increasingly grappling with over the last few months, which has kept the Sat-Chi combo away from the tour. Satwik has been hampered by "niggles all over the body", especially dealing with pain in the shoulder and the right knee that has bothered him since 2021. He is currently pain free, but has never really been fully pain free through an entire season. It's frustrating, Satwik said, because he has consulted multiple doctors who have all concurred that it doesn't necessitate surgery.