It is perhaps fitting that on the week they scaled new heights in the world rankings, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty return to the event that set them on this path. Winning the Thailand Open in 2019 was a turning point in their career, as they became the first ever Indian men’s doubles duo to win a Superseries / Super 500 event on the circuit. And they did so by beating some big names on the way, that included the former World Champions and the then reigning World Champions.
Now world No 4, Chirag and Satwik will begin their quest to qualify for Paris 2024 in Bangkok. Having skipped Malaysia Masters, the Asian Champions will be raring to go at the start of a busy period. The draws at the Singapore Open and Indonesia Open to follow in the next couple of weeks haven’t been kind, but for now, all eyes will be on Thailand Open where they have a great record and start the tournament as the top seeds. After winning in 2019, they reached the semifinals in 2020 as well in results that marked their early rise and here, in 2023, they begin the tournament as perhaps the pair to beat.
