BWF World Rankings: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty climb to career-high No. 5, HS Prannoy back in top 10

India's star men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty climbed two spots to a career-high No. 5 in the latest BWF Rankings released on Tuesday, December 20.

HS Prannoy, who was the only Indian representative at the recently concluded BWF World Tour Finals, made his way back to the top 10 of the men's singles rankings. The Keralite is now placed ninth, one rung shy of his career-best ranking of eighth that he achieved in 2018.

Prannoy is thus the new India No. 2 men's singles shuttler after Commonwealth Games gold medalist Lakshya Sen, who continues to hold on to the seventh position.

Former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, too, rose a solitary rung to No. 11 in the latest rankings.

Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu remains static at the No. 6 spot in women's singles. She hasn't been in action since August after sustaining a stress fracture on her ankle en route to winning the women's singles gold medal in Birmingham. Youngsters Malvika Bansod and Ashmita Chaliha surged to the 32nd and 45th rankings, respectively.

In women's doubles, Commonwealth Games bronze medalists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand jumped two spots to 20th in the latest rankings. Veterans Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy also jumped a couple of rungs to 24th.

Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto soared three spots to be placed at the 21st position in mixed doubles.

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How have Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty & HS Prannoy performed on the BWF tour in 2022?

HS Prannoy in action at the 2022 BWF World Championships

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had a historic year, becoming the first Indian men's doubles pair to win a Super 750 title when they triumphed at the French Open.

They were also crowned Commonwealth Games champions, besides claiming the title at home at the India Open.

Prannoy, meanwhile, had his most consistent season this year. He finished as the runner-up at the Swiss Open, made the BWF World Championships quarterfinals, and the semifinals at the Indonesia Open and the Malaysia Masters.

The 30-year-old wrapped up the 2022 season in brilliant fashion with an upset of World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen in his final group game at the BWF World Tour Finals.

Both Prannoy and the pair of Rankireddy-Shetty were instrumental in bringing India's first-ever Thomas Cup title.

The Indian shuttlers will next be seen in action at the Malaysia Open, a Super 1000 tournament starting in Kuala Lumpur on January 10.