India’s men’s doubles coach Tan Kim Her believes Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have the ability to challenge for the BWF World Championships title, but Satwik’s recurring shoulder injury remains a major concern.The Indian pair, bronze medallists at the 2022 and 2025 World Championships, missed some tournaments because of Satwik’s injury. They returned strongly by winning the Singapore Open Super 750 in June and have received a first-round bye in this year’s event.“His shoulder is almost fully recovered now. He is ready now,” Tan said.“He has gone under rehab. I think now he is improving a lot. Of course, the rehab is still there but he is getting much better. Chirag is fully 100 per cent fit.”Tan said Satwik’s previous shoulder tear continues to worry him, especially after another break from competition.“So this one, especially for Satwik. His shoulder… he already had the tear. So it’s on and off. So hopefully this time he can overcome. This is my concern. Other than that, both of them are very committed, very disciplined. But injury there, we cannot do anything.”The coach also stressed the need for Satwik to regain his match rhythm and confidence.“If they’re mentally strong, they can beat anyone, as we saw in the Singapore Open. But if they’re mentally not strong, they can lose to anyone,” Tan said.
Focus on major tournaments
Tan urged the pair not to worry about winning every event and instead peak at the right time.“I always tell them, we have to pick at the right time. We cannot win every tournament. The important part is the major tournament. We try to hit the major tournament,” he said.With the World Championships followed by the Asian Games, Tan said managing expectations will be crucial.“Sometimes you’re under pressure, it’s something like, you go, you have to win, you have to win. So I told them, stay one match at one time. Expectation is high,” he said.He added that India’s pair is strong in attack, but needs to improve defensively to match South Korea’s best players.
