Andhra Shuttler Satwiksairaj Rankireddy Turns 23 

Vijayawada: The young shuttler from Andhra Pradesh Satwiksairaj Rankireddy celebrated his 23rd birthday today. Satwiksairaj and his doubles partner Chirag Shetty have won many laurels for the country.  

Following in his father’s footsteps, Satwiksairaj picked the badminton racquet early on. He started taking badminton lessons at Pullela Gopichand Academy in 2014. At the academy, he took a life changing decision which paved the way for his future successes. The Andhra shuttler decided to pursue excellence as a doubles specialist.

Satwiksairaj first got his breakthrough in 2016 when he and Chirag Shetty combination won the Tata Open India Challenge. In the same year, the shuttlers duo went on to clinch three international tournaments including India International Series in Hyderabad and Bangladesh International Series in Colombo, Sri Lanka. 

Satwik started winning medals at the Asian Team Championship. He won the bronze medal with Chirag. Later, the Indian pair won another bronze at the Manila event in 2020. Satwik scripted history by winning a gold medal with the mixed team in the Commonwealth Games (CWG). The Indian badminton pair Satwik and Ashwini Ponappa beat Malaysian pair Peng Soon Chang and Liu Goh to clinch India’s first gold medal in CWG history.   

Last year, Satwik was a part of the Indian team which lifted India’s first ever Thomas Cup trophy in Bangkok. The Satwik-Chirag pair also won a bronze in Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships last year in Tokyo. 

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