Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty achieve career-best World No. 2 ranking

New Delhi: India’s top men’s doubles badminton pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, reached their highest-ever ranking of world No. 2 in the latest BWF Rankings after their victory at the Korea Open, a BWF Super 500 event, last week.

Satwik and Chirag secured a remarkable come-from-behind win against the world No. 1 Indonesian duo, Fajar Alfian, and Muhammad Rian Ardianto, to claim the Korea Open 2023 men’s doubles title. Their impressive performance earned them a total of 87,211 points and a career-best ranking.

Previously ranked world No. 5 at the start of the season, the Indian pair’s recent victories at the Swiss Open 2023 (Super 300), Indonesia Open 2023 (Super 1000), and Korea Open helped them surpass the Chinese pair of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who dropped to No. 3.

Satwik and Chirag have been in excellent form, remaining unbeaten in all seven finals they have played since 2022, including the Commonwealth Games final. Their dominant performance on the BWF World Tour this season has led to an impressive 10-match unbeaten streak in the men’s doubles circuit.

In the women’s singles category, PV Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, maintained her 17th spot in the rankings, despite an early exit from the Korea Open.

HS Prannoy continues to be India’s top-ranked shuttler, holding the 10th spot in the men’s singles chart. However, Lakshya Sen dropped one spot and is currently placed at world No. 13. Kidambi Srikanth’s ranking remains at 20th, as he faces challenges with his form.

The women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand maintained their position in the top 20, occupying the 19th place in the rankings. Despite a second-round exit from the Super 500 tournament, they continue to showcase their skills on the global badminton stage.