The Indian men’s doubles badminton pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty reclaimed their No 1 rank in the latest world rankings published by the Badminton World Federation on Tuesday.
This development comes on the back of Rankireddy and Shetty’s display at recently concluded 2024 India Open Super 750, where they finished as the runners-up following a 21-15, 11-21, 18-21 loss to reigning world champions Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jee of South Korea.
The Indian pair, who entered the tournament in New Delhi as world No 2, now has 95861 points and leapfrogged China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang for the top spot in the rankings.
Rankireddy and Shetty have had a fantastic start to the 2024 season with two final appearances in as many tournaments. The duo had also finished as runners-up at the season opening Malaysia Open Super 1000, behind Keng and Chang earlier in the month.
The pair of Dhruv Kapila and MR Arjun continue to be the second-best ranked Indian men’s doubles pair and are placed 42nd currently.
Having reached back-to-back finals in consecutive weeks, the Indian pair pulled have pulled out from the 2024 Indonesia Masters Super 500, which starts on Tuesday.
“We wanted to play less tournaments with more quality,” Rankireddy had said after their loss in the 2024 India Open final.
“But our target was not to get injured and get into the finals of the tournaments we were playing.”
Rankireddy and Shetty had first climbed to the top of the rankings after their historic gold medal finish at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou last year. The duo has since maintained their place in the top five of the men’s doubles rankings.
Also Read: Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, in sync, and on top of the world
Meanwhile, men’s singles shuttler HS Prannoy also made a one-spot leap following his semi-final exit at the India Open.
The 31-year-old from Kerala is now placed eighth in the rankings with 76587 points, going past Thailand’s Kunvalut Vitidsarn, who faced a shock second-round exit at the hands of Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu last week.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!