New Delhi: Indian men’s doubles badminton pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy achieved a career-best world No. 5 ranking in the latest BWF World Rankings released on Tuesday.
Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy started the 2022 season on a winning note by claiming the Indian Open Super 500 event. They haven’t dropped out of the top 10 rankings since then.
Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy won the bronze medal at the World Championships in Tokyo and lifted their maiden Super 750 title at the French Open. They are the first Indian pair to achieve both feats.
At the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy claimed India’s first-ever CWG gold medal in men’s doubles. They also helped India become badminton world champions for the first time with impressive performances at the Thomas Cup.
In women’s singles, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu is ranked sixth. She has been out of action due to injury since winning gold at the Commonwealth Games 2022. London 2012 bronze medallist Saina Nehwal is ranked a place below Malvika Bansod at world No. 33 while Aakarshi Kashyap is ranked 35th.
In men’s singles, Lakshya Sen dropped down to world No. 7 but remained India’s top-ranked player. HS Prannoy, who scored a win against world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen at the BWF World Tour Finals, entered the top 10 for the first time in over four years. He is ranked at world No. 8.
World championships silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth is ranked 11th. No other Indian men’s singles player is ranked inside the top 30.
In women’s doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand are India’s top-ranked pair at world No. 18. Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy are ranked world No. 24.
In mixed doubles, Tanisha Crasto and Ishaan Bhatnagar moved up three places to the 21st spot.
