Tokyo Olympics: Knew we had no chance after Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin won, says Chirag
Jul 27, 2021
Tokyo [Japan], July 27 : After bowing out of the men's doubles event in the ongoing Tokyo Olympics, India shuttler Chirag Shetty on Tuesday said he along with his partner Satwiksairaj Rankireddy knew they would not qualify when the pair of Chinese Taipei won their match.
Chirag and Satwik on Tuesday defeated Great Britain's duo of Ben Lane and Sean Vendy in a crucial final Group A Play Stage game in the Tokyo Olympics here at the Musashino Forest Plaza Court 3. The Indian duo defeated Lane and Vendy 21-17, 21-19 in their final group stage match.
However, this was not enough as the pair hailing from Chinese Taipei ended up winning their game, sending Chirag and Satwik out from the quarter-finals race.
"We knew the moment Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin (TPE) won, we didn't stand a chance. They won in two games and we won in three. It is quite sad. But unfortunately, even after winning two matches in the group, we don't go through. But that is badminton and we have to live with it," Shetty told Badminton World Federation's (BWF) website.
Talking about the game, Satwik said: "Because of that, we came into it thinking it was going to be our last game in the Olympics. So we weren't under pressure. We kept it simple. But it was disappointing to see the Indonesians (Gideon/Sukamuljo) lose [just before we went on]. I feel that we have learnt so much from this badminton experience and there are a lot of positives to take home."
On Monday, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy were defeated by the world number one Indonesian pair of Marcus Gideon and Kevin Sukamuljo in the Group A Play Stage here at the Musashino Forest Plaza Court 1. The Indonesian pair defeated Chirag and Satwik 21-13, 21-12.
