“A very special medal” - Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty reflect on Paris Olympics redemption & World Championships bronze after ‘tough’ year

Twelve months after a disappointing end to their Paris Olympics campaign, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty redeemed themselves at the 2025 World Championships with a bronze medal. Recently, the duo reflected on what this medal means to them and the journey en route to the podium.

Rankireddy and Shetty had been India’s frontrunners for a badminton medal at the 2024 Games. However, the former World No.1s were ousted in the quarterfinals by Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik. The duo's unfortunate luck followed them into 2025, as they made multiple early exits from tournaments at the beginning of the year. The Indians also dealt with injury issues and the sudden loss of Rankireddy’s father.

However, despite the setbacks, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty turned things around at the 2025 World Championships. They outdid the World No.1 pairing of Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang in their round of 16 encounter, before avenging their Paris Olympics loss to Chia and Soh in the quarterfinals. They ended their campaign with a bronze medal finish.

Reflecting on their season and the podium finish at the World Championships, Rankireddy told The Indian Express,

“It’s been a tough season for us, on and off the court. Things were not in place mentally, physically. So many things in the background. But still fighting for the place in the top eight, and still hunting for that podium finish. At the right time we picked up. Yes, a little disappointed too. We could have gone a little further. But before coming here, we wanted to beat these two pairs. Especially the Chinese, then obviously Aaron-Soh, the way we played, I was happy that we are not so behind. We are up there. We settle with bronze, next we will see in Delhi (2027 World Championships).”

Shetty echoed his partner’s sentiments about their difficult year and added,

“To come here (World Championships) with the draw that we had, it was quite a tough draw, to be honest, right from the first day itself. It was never easy to beat pairs we’ve not had a comfortable time with, at a major event and come out there and beat them and come here and win a medal. It’s definitely great what we’ve been able to do. Wouldn’t say we are entirely happy. But when I look back over the year that we’ve had, I think it’s a very special medal.”

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s impressive run at the World Championships in Paris came to a close in the semifinals after the duo were outdone by the lower-ranked Liu Yin and Chen Boyang.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty's World Championships bronze keeps alive important streak for India

Men's doubles podium at the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships (Image Source: Getty)

Over the past decade, India has excelled in badminton on the international stage, especially when it comes to the big events. Prior to the Paris Olympics, the nation's shuttler had claimed a medal at three back-to-back Games, with Saina Nehwal’s bronze in 2012 and PV Sindhu's silver and bronze in 2016 and 2021 respectively.

Additionally, Indian badminton stars have made it to the podium at every single World Championships since 2011. With their bronze medal at the 2025 edition, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty successfully kept this streak alive.

Over the course of their career, the duo have won two World Championships medals. They claimed their maiden podium finish at the event in 2022, and repeated the feat this year. With the next World Championships taking place in India, fans will be excited to see Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty upgrade the color of their medal.