Last December, Tan Kim Her returned to India after five years to coach the pair he had formed a decade back. But soon he realised that he’d have to deal with off-court issues that had been plaguing Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty before getting to their game.
Post the Paris Olympics, the ace Indian combine played only one tournament in the last five months of 2024 — China Masters where they reached the semis. The reason was that both of them were hindered by physical struggles. “When I began, they had many injuries,” the Malaysian told HT.
Rankireddy’s shoulder has been a perennial problem, forcing the pair to pull out of multiple events. The Amalapuram born also developed issues in his lower back. Mumbai-born Shetty, on the other hand, developed spasmodic back pain which continued for months. “I realised something is not right because both of them were getting injured very easily. We had to completely reorganise their training schedule,” said Tan.
The doubles coach sat them down, brought in the trainer, strength and conditioning coach and made Rankireddy and Shetty note down what they can and can’t do. Tan came up with a formula to manage their workload and injuries, schedule training and competitions accordingly so that they remain injury free.
“The two boys are quite disciplined. They follow instructions of the trainer and physio to strengthen their bodies. They have gotten better. Their bodies now are in much better shape,” said the 53-year-old.
“But we still have to be careful about their bodies. I still have to monitor them, especially if they are playing back-to-back tournaments. Their performance is getting better. Their confidence has also increased compared to the start of the year. They’re coming back.”
Rankireddy and Shetty’s return to form is now clearly visible. After reaching four semi-finals this year, they earned a World Championships bronze last month, becoming the first Indian pair to clinch multiple medals at the prestigious event having also won the same metal in 2022.
After waiting for 16 long months, they finally made a final on the BWF World Tour when they made the title clash of the Hong Kong Open this month. They made a successive final on Sunday at the China Masters, reaching the last day without losing a single game.
“They are quite consistent right now. They found their confidence and are back to their playing style. We cannot win every time but the most important thing is that we have to be consistent with our performances,” said Tan.
“But I need to instill a little more belief in them. Like in Sunday’s match, in the first game they were leading 14-7 and everything was going smooth. But unfortunately, when the Koreans started catching up, they lost focus. I was telling them that we can beat them, to believe in yourself. Instilling belief is the main thing.”
In the last three tournaments, Rankireddy and Shetty were able to consistently beat the world’s best pairs, including world and Olympic champions. But that was also made possible due to certain upgrades that the world No.7 combine have introduced in their game.
Normally a front-and-back court combine, Rankireddy and Shetty played side-by-side multiple times to counter and confuse their rivals in certain matches. They also used the flick serve, especially Shetty, a lot more in Hong Kong which flummoxed their opponents.
“Yes, I introduced these things. We sit down and talk. It depends which opponent we are playing. If we are playing against a certain pair against whom we cannot play front-and-back, we have to split up but I’m not going into details,” said Tan.
“Then some players are very good in attacking (service) so you have to flick them while others receive it easily. It is a strategy game instead of a physical game.”
Though they are playing well, Rankireddy and Shetty are yet to end their title drought which now stands at 16 months. Tan, who coached the Japanese doubles teams to multiple laurels between the Tokyo and Paris Olympics, has set high expectations with winning the elite BWF World Tour Finals in December as the top priority. “We’ve got to win a major tournament,” said Tan.
For that, the reigning Asian Games gold medallists need to up their game and regain the form that made them world No.1 on three occasions. One of the fiercest attacking pairs, the Indian combine need to overcome some weaknesses, especially in defence.
“The defense can be better. We have to make sure that when we defend, we must have a plan and not just do so without thinking. We must know which direction we want to go, which place we want to intercept and have proper planning,” said Tan.
“Our attacking game too can be better. If you’re attacking the top pairs, especially top three, they think they can finish it. But the opponents return the shot which leaves them confused a few times. I keep reminding them that you’re playing top pairs. Even if they’re in front and pushing them doesn’t mean you can kill them (the shuttle). Of course, against lower ranked pairs, they can definitely finish it in 1-2 shots. But against a high level pair, it’s not easy. They’re lagging a bit on this.”
Tan has given Rankireddy and Shetty a break “to relax their mind” with the pair scheduled to play the Denmark Open and French Open next month.
