# Satwiksairaj Rankireddy

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (born 13 August 2000) is an Indian badminton player. With his men's doubles partner Chirag Shetty, he is an Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and Asian Championships gold medalist. They are the only Indian doubles pair to become No. 1 in World Ranking, win the World Tour S1000, and the first Indians to win a gold medal at the Asian Games in badminton.
He achieved a new Guinness World Record for the fastest hit in badminton by a male player, with his smash reaching a speed of 565 km/h.

## Early life

Rankireddy was born on 13 August 2000 in Amalapuram, Andhra Pradesh and started playing badminton after following in the footsteps of his father, who was a state-level player in the past, as well his elder brother. In 2014, he joined the Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad and decided to become a doubles specialist.

## Career
### 2018

In 2018, Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty played a crucial role in earning India the historic gold medal in the Mixed Team event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, where they also won the men's doubles silver. They won their first BWF World Tour title in Hyderabad Open after beating the Indonesian pair of Akbar Bintang Cahyono and Muhammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani in the final.

### 2019

In 2019, Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty became the first Indian doubles pair to win a BWF Superseries or BWF World Tour (Super 500+) title, when they won the Thailand Open title, beating the Chinese pair of Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen in the final. They followed it up with a runner-up finish at the 2019 French Open, where they lost in the final to the Indonesian pair of Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo.

### 2021

In 2021, Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost to the Indonesian duo of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in the second round to crash out of the 2020 Yonex Thailand Open. In July, he and Shetty competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, but were eliminated in the group stage, following a loss to Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo. However, they were the only pair in the entire tournament who defeated eventual gold medalists Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin, whom they had narrowly beaten in their first group stage encounter. In December, Rankireddy and Shetty qualified for the BWF World Tour Finals for the first time in their career, but withdrew from the tournament after a loss in their first group stage match to the Danish pair of Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen.

### 2022

In 2022, Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty started the year by winning the India Open. They were also part of India's Thomas Cup winning team. In the final, having lost the first game to the Indonesian duo of Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Mohammad Ahsan, they displayed immense perseverance and tenacity to win the second game and close out the third game at 21–19, giving India a 2–0 lead over Indonesia. This was pivotal in helping India bag its maiden Thomas Cup trophy. Rankireddy and Shetty then won the men's doubles gold at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, beating the home pair of Ben Lane and Sean Vendy in the final. At the BWF World Championships, Rankireddy and Shetty won a bronze medal, India's first-ever men's doubles medal at the tournament. They beat defending champions Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi in the quarterfinals, but lost in the semi-finals to eventual champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik. They then won their first ever BWF World Super 750 title in the French Open by beating Chinese Taipei pair Lu Ching-yao and Yang Po-han in the finals.

### 2023

In 2023, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won their first title as a pair in the 2023 Swiss Open (badminton), beating the Chinese pair of Ren Xiangyu and Tan Qiang in the final. The duo also crowned as Asian Champion after winning the 2023 Badminton Asia Championships held in Dubai. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won their first BWF World Super 1000 title by defeating Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the final of 2023 Indonesia Open, thus becoming the first men's doubles pair from India to win the event. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty went on to win 2023 Korea Open defeating Indonesian Pair Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto.

### 2024

With Chirag Shetty, he reached the final of Super 1000 event of 2024 Malaysia Open and lost to the Chinese pair of Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang. Then they reached another final this year at 2024 India Open and again reached finals but lost to the Korean pair of Kang Min-hyuk and Seo Seung-jae in a tough game. Then they finally achieved success by winning their first tour of this year in Super 750 event of 2024 French Open defeating Chinese Taipei pair of Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan in straight games easily.

### 2025

The Malaysian Tan Kim Her who identified and paired Satwik with Chiraj Shetty is back as their coach again. In Malaysian Open BWF Super 1000 and Indian Open BWF Super 750, they reached the semifinals.

## Achievements
### World Championships

Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2022 | Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan | Chirag Shetty | Aaron Chia Soh Wooi Yik | 22–20, 18–21, 16–21 | Bronze |

### Commonwealth Games

Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2018 | Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre, Gold Coast, Australia | Chirag Shetty | Marcus Ellis Chris Langridge | 13–21, 16–21 | Silver |
| 2022 | National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England | Chirag Shetty | Ben Lane Sean Vendy | 21–15, 21–13 | Gold |

### Asian Games

Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2022 | Binjiang Gymnasium, Hangzhou, China | Chirag Shetty | Choi Sol-gyu Kim Won-ho | 21–18, 21–16 | Gold |

### Asian Championships

Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2023 | Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Indoor Hall, Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Chirag Shetty | Ong Yew Sin Teo Ee Yi | 16–21, 21–17, 21–19 | Gold |

### BWF World Tour (9 titles, 5 runners-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300, and the BWF Tour Super 100.
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2018 | Hyderabad Open | Super 100 | Chirag Shetty | Akbar Bintang Cahyono Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani | 21–16, 21–14 | Winner |
| 2018 | Syed Modi International | Super 300 | Chirag Shetty | Fajar Alfian Muhammad Rian Ardianto | 11–21, 20–22 | Runner-up |
| 2019 | Thailand Open | Super 500 | Chirag Shetty | Li Junhui Liu Yuchen | 21–19, 18–21, 21–18 | Winner |
| 2019 | French Open | Super 750 | Chirag Shetty | Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo | 18–21, 16–21 | Runner-up |
| 2022 | India Open | Super 500 | Chirag Shetty | Mohammad Ahsan Hendra Setiawan | 21–16, 26–24 | Winner |
| 2022 | French Open | Super 750 | Chirag Shetty | Lu Ching-yao Yang Po-han | 21–13, 21–19 | Winner |
| 2023 | Swiss Open | Super 300 | Chirag Shetty | Ren Xiangyu Tan Qiang | 21–19, 24–22 | Winner |
| 2023 | Indonesia Open | Super 1000 | Chirag Shetty | Aaron Chia Soh Wooi Yik | 21–17, 21–18 | Winner |
| 2023 | Korea Open | Super 500 | Chirag Shetty | Fajar Alfian Muhammad Rian Ardianto | 17–21, 21–13, 21–14 | Winner |
| 2023 | China Masters | Super 750 | Chirag Shetty | Liang Weikeng Wang Chang | 19–21, 21–18, 19–21 | Runner-up |
| 2024 | Malaysia Open | Super 1000 | Chirag Shetty | Liang Weikeng Wang Chang | 21–9, 18–21, 17–21 | Runner-up |
| 2024 | India Open | Super 750 | Chirag Shetty | Kang Min-hyuk Seo Seung-jae | 21–15, 11–21, 18–21 | Runner-up |
| 2024 | French Open | Super 750 | Chirag Shetty | Lee Jhe-huei Yang Po-hsuan | 21–11, 21–17 | Winner |
| 2024 | Thailand Open | Super 500 | Chirag Shetty | Chen Boyang Liu Yi | 21–15, 21–15 | Winner |

### BWF International Challenge/Series (10 titles)

Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2016 | Mauritius International | Chirag Shetty | Dhruv Kapila Saurabh Sharma | 21–12, 21–16 | Winner |
| 2016 | India International Series | Chirag Shetty | Goh Sze Fei Nur Izzuddin | 8–11, 11–5, 7–11, 11–8, 11–5 | Winner |
| 2016 | Tata Open India International | Chirag Shetty | Arjun M.R. Ramchandran Shlok | 10–12, 11–9, 11–7, 11–5 | Winner |
| 2016 | Bangladesh International | Chirag Shetty | M. Anilkumar Raju Venkat Gaurav Prasad | 17–21, 21–7, 21–8 | Winner |
| 2017 | Vietnam International | Chirag Shetty | Trawut Potieng Nanthakarn Yordphaisong | 17–21, 21–9, 21–15 | Winner |
| 2019 | Brazil International | Chirag Shetty | Jelle Maas Robin Tabeling | 21–14, 21–18 | Winner |
Mixed doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2015 | Tata Open India International | K. Maneesha | Arun Vishnu Aparna Balan | 21–13, 21–16 | Winner |
| 2016 | Mauritius International | K. Maneesha | Yogendran Khrishnan Prajakta Sawant | 21–19, 11–21, 21–17 | Winner |
| 2016 | India International Series | K. Maneesha | Low Hang Yee Cheah Yee See | 5–11, 11–8, 12–10, 11–8 | Winner |
| 2016 | Bangladesh International | K. Maneesha | Tanupat Viriyangkura Thanyasuda Wongya | 21–12, 21–12 | Winner |
    BWF International Challenge tournament
    BWF International Series tournament
    BWF Future Series tournament

### BWF Junior International (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Boys' doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2014 | India Junior International | Krishna Prasad Garaga | Arjun M. R. Chirag Shetty | 7–11, 10–11, 6-11 | Runner-up |
| 2015 | India Junior International | Krishna Prasad Garaga | W Sarapat Panachai Worasaktayanan | 21–15, 21–17 | Winner |
    BWF Junior International Grand Prix tournament
    BWF Junior International Challenge tournament
    BWF Junior International Series tournament
    BWF Junior Future Series tournament

## Performance timeline
### Key

| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | A | G | S | B | NH | N/A | DNQ |

### National team

* Junior level
| Team events | 2015 | 2016 |
| World Junior Championships | 9th | QF |
* Senior level
| Team events | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Asia Team Championships | B | NH | QF | NH | B | NH | A | NH | QF |
| Asia Mixed Team Championships | NH | QF | NH | A | NH | NH | NH | A | NH |
| Asian Games | NH | NH | QF | NH | NH | NH | S | NH | NH |
| Commonwealth Games | NH | NH | G | NH | NH | NH | S | NH | NH |
| Thomas Cup | RR | NH | A | NH | QF | NH | G | NH | QF |
| Sudirman Cup | NH | QF | NH | RR | NH | RR | NH | RR | NH |

### Individual competitions
#### Junior level

* Boys' doubles
| Events | 2015 | 2016 |
| World Junior Championships | 3R | 4R |
* Mixed doubles
| Events | 2015 | 2016 |
| World Junior Championships | 2R | QF |

#### Senior level

| Events | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Asian Championships | A | A | A | NH | NH | QF | G | w/d |
| Asian Games | NH | 2R | NH | NH | NH | G | NH | NH |
| Commonwealth Games | NH | S | NH | NH | NH | G | NH | NH |
| World Championships | 1R | 2R | A | NH | 3R | B | QF | NH |
| Olympic Games | NH | NH | NH | RR | NH | NH | NH | |

### World Tour

| Tournament | BWF Superseries Grand Prix | BWF Superseries Grand Prix | BWF World Tour | BWF World Tour | BWF World Tour | BWF World Tour | BWF World Tour | BWF World Tour | BWF World Tour | BWF World Tour | Best |
| Tournament | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Best |
| Malaysia Open | A | Q2 | 1R | A | NH | NH | 2R | SF | F | SF | F ('24) |
| India Open | A | 1R | 2R | A | NH | NH | W | 2R | F | SF | W ('22) |
| Indonesia Masters | A | NH | SF | A | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | | SF ('18) |
| French Open | A | QF | SF | F | NH | QF | W | 2R | W | | W ('22, '24) |
| All England Open | A | A | 2R | A | A | 2R | QF | 2R | 2R | | QF ('22) |
| Swiss Open | A | A | A | QF | NH | SF | 2R | W | A | | W ('23) |
| Spain Masters | NH | NH | A | A | A | A | NH | 1R | A | | 1R ('23) |
| Thailand Open | A | A | 1R | W | 2R | NH | A | 2R | W | | W ('19, '24) |
| Thailand Open | A | A | 1R | W | SF | NH | A | 2R | W | | W ('19, '24) |
| Malaysia Masters | A | 1R | A | A | 1R | NH | A | A | A | | 1R ('17, '20) |
| Singapore Open | A | Q2 | 2R | A | NH | NH | A | 1R | 1R | | 2R ('18) |
| Indonesia Open | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | NH | SF | A | W | w/d | | W ('23) |
| Australian Open | A | 2R | A | 2R | NH | NH | A | A | A | | 2R ('17, '19) |
| U.S. Open | A | 1R | A | A | NH | NH | NH | A | A | | 1R ('17) |
| Japan Open | A | 1R | 1R | QF | NH | NH | A | QF | A | | QF ('19, '23) |
| Korea Open | A | QF | A | 1R | NH | NH | QF | W | A | | W ('23) |
| Hong Kong Open | A | A | 1R | 1R | NH | NH | NH | A | A | | 1R ('18, '19) |
| China Open | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | NH | NH | NH | 1R | A | | 2R ('19) |
| Denmark Open | A | 1R | A | 2R | A | 2R | QF | A | A | | QF ('22) |
| Hylo Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | QF | A | A | | QF ('22) |
| Japan Masters | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | 1R | A | | 1R ('24) |
| China Masters | A | A | QF | SF | NH | NH | NH | F | SF | | F ('23) |
| Syed Modi International | Q2 | 1R | F | 1R | NH | NH | A | A | w/d | | F ('18) |
| Superseries Tour Finals | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | RR | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | | RR ('21) |
| Dutch Open | A | 1R | A | A | NH | NA | NA | NA | NA | | 1R ('17) |
| Hyderabad Open | NA | NA | W | A | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | | W ('18) |
| Year-end ranking | 68 | 31 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 9 | | 1 |
| Tournament | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Best |

## Record against opponents

Men's doubles results with Chirag Shetty against Year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semifinalists, and Olympic quarterfinalists. Accurate as of 30 July 2024.
| Players | Matches | Results | Results | Difference |
| Players | Matches | Won | Lost | Difference |
| Fu Haifeng Zhang Nan | 1 | 0 | 1 | –1 |
| Liang Weikeng Wang Chang (badminton) | 6 | 1 | 5 | –4 |
| Li Junhui Liu Yuchen | 3 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| Liu Cheng Zhang Nan | 1 | 0 | 1 | –1 |
| He Jiting Tan Qiang | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Chen Hung-ling Wang Chi-lin | 1 | 0 | 1 | –1 |
| Lee Yang Wang Chi-lin | 3 | 2 | 3 | -1 |
| Mathias Boe Carsten Mogensen | 5 | 1 | 4 | –3 |
| Kim Astrup Anders Skaarup Rasmussen | 9 | 3 | 6 | –3 |
| Marcus Ellis Chris Langridge | 3 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| Mohammad Ahsan Hendra Setiawan | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Players | Matches | Results | Results | Difference |
| Players | Matches | Won | Lost | Difference |
| Fajar Alfian Muhammad Rian Ardianto | 6 | 4 | 2 | +2 |
| Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo | 11 | 0 | 11 | –11 |
| Takuro Hoki Yugo Kobayashi | 5 | 4 | 1 | +3 |
| Hiroyuki Endo Yuta Watanabe | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Takeshi Kamura Keigo Sonoda | 5 | 0 | 5 | –5 |
| Seo Seung-jae Kang Min-hyuk | 7 | 5 | 2 | +3 |
| Ko Sung-hyun Shin Baek-cheol | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Aaron Chia Soh Wooi Yik | 11 | 3 | 8 | –5 |
| Goh V Shem Tan Wee Kiong | 2 | 0 | 2 | –2 |
| Ong Yew Sin Teo Ee Yi | 8 | 5 | 3 | +2 |

## Awards and recognition

Guinness world record
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest hit by a male player in badminton, with his smash reaching a speed of 565 km/h. The previous record of 493 km/h was held by Malaysian player Tan Boon Heong, set in May 2013. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy made the record-breaking smash at the Yonex factory gymnasium in Soka, Saitama, Japan, under controlled conditions. Official judges from the Guinness World Records verified the speed measurement results, solidifying Satwik's historic achievement.

### International

| Year | Award | Category | Result |
| 2018 | BWF Awards | Most Improved Players (with Shetty) | Nominated |
| 2019 | BWF Awards | Most Improved Players (with Shetty) | Nominated |
| 2023 | BWF Awards | Men's Doubles Pair of the Year (with Shetty) | Nominated |

### National

| Year | Award | Category | Result |
| 2020 | Arjuna Award | Good Performance in the Field of Sports | Won |
| 2023 | Khel Ratna Award | Spectacular Performance in the Field of Sports | Won |
| 2025 | Times of India Sports Awards | Badminton Player of the Year Male | TBA |