“I’m not getting support from my (Andhra Pradesh) government, I’m not getting support from anywhere. I’m all alone in this. I went out a bit that day and spoke up. I’m not normally like that.”
Somewhere between the spectrum of sadness and exasperation, Indian badminton star Satwiksiraj Rankireddy vented his frustration in an interview with India Today, a day after returning from India’s Thomas Cup campaign. India defeated Chinese Taipei to win the bronze medal in the tournament, before eliminating France in the semi-finals. It was India’s second medal finish in three editions of the tournament, the first being a historic gold in 2022, a campaign in which Satwik and his doubles partner Chirag Shetty were a big part.
The call, which was scheduled for 15 minutes, turned into a 45-minute chat where Satwik went on and on about how little the ecosystem has to offer athletes in India who travel the world in pursuit of excellence and making their country proud.
After returning to India, Satwiksiraj Rankireddy created a massive storm on social media when he posted an Instagram story. The said story reflected the sorry state of the sport in India, where not a single member of the badminton association or the government went to the airport to receive the bronze contingent that had just returned from Denmark.
“Back home now. As usual no one knows what happened in the last two weeks and no one really seems to care,” Satwik wrote on his story. (Courtesy: Satwiksirah Rankireddy Instagram)
INVISIBLE CHAMPIONS
A dejected Satwik, who is part of the most successful doubles pair in Indian badminton history alongside Chirag, was asked by India Today if it was too much to ask for a bit of care from the country’s citizens, officials and the sports ecosystem. For the pair who have risen to the top of the BWF rankings, the anonymity of the immigration front becomes a jarring reminder of where they stand in the Indian sporting hierarchy.
“When we travel through the airport, nobody knows we’re a badminton team. Nobody at immigration, nobody at the counter, nobody on the plane,” he says.
In fact, the neglect begins much before they step onto the court in Horsens to represent India in the Thomas Cup. Satwik reveals a detail that seems incomprehensible to the national team: they had to design and print their own kits.
“We designed the Thomas Cup jersey ourselves. We printed our own T-shirts. HS Prannoy came up with the idea that we would wear T-shirts with the word Thomas Cup on it, which would have one star. We designed two T-shirts – white and black. We bought it, sent it to be printed, and the few T-shirts we managed to sell, we donated the money to charity.”
There they were, one of the best teams in the world, standing at the airport in jerseys they had designed and printed themselves.
“Not a single person at the airport asked me or anyone from the team: where are you going, are you a badminton team, or are you playing something? There was nothing at all. And the lack of recognition makes your heart sink.”
“What I’m asking is so simple, cheer us on at team events, show us that care. We don’t want any money. We just want a little flower, just a comment ‘hey I saw you play yesterday, congratulations’.” That’s what I wanted. And that night I was very frustrated and it came out. If you lose tomorrow, they will comment immediately. “Look, they keep losing in the first round,” Satwik said.
Satwik’s story, which captured the country’s apathy towards badminton – perhaps now one of India’s biggest sporting ecosystems outside of cricket – ended up creating quite a stir. Popular social media influencer Gabbar hit out at the badminton team and asked what exactly they did to deserve the fans’ admiration.
“Our badminton team is great. But they still choke a lot. A star doesn’t build when you’re ranked 3rd or 4th. It’s hard to achieve, but gone are the days of celebrating Milkha Singh’s 4th place in the Olympics. Win a medal in the Olympics, see the accolade,” the account said.
THE THOMAS CUP MOMENT THAT NEVER ARRIVED
Frustration is approached by these “experts” of the digital age. The country that wants to have a fitness revolution and host the Olympics in 2036 still doesn’t care much about anything except cricket. Once every four years, the gyanis raise their heads for a month to count India’s Olympic medals. Social media suddenly turns into a sports think tank and everyone starts analyzing why India cannot become a true sports nation.
The following month, the conversation disappears. what does that mean? Nothing. Zero positive discourse. However, the athletes remain exactly where they were.
“Winning the 2022 Thomas Cup was supposed to be our 1983 World Cup moment,” Satwik says slowly. A deep sigh follows.
India’s victory in the 1983 World Cup changed cricket forever. Money entered cricket. A star followed. Infrastructure followed. Generations of children began to dream differently. But four years after India’s Thomas Cup triumph, Satwik still finds himself explaining who he is in restaurants in Hyderabad.
It’s a stark contrast: globally celebrated on the court, yet invisible on the streets he calls home.
“I felt so bad. Because I didn’t see the growth of the sport after the gold in Thomas Cup 2022. This time we won bronze and nothing will change in the attitude at all. If the landscape doesn’t change now, then our juniors will be treated the same – like nobody else,” Satwik said.
In the fleeting world of six-second attention spans, Satwik believes it’s okay to forget or not care about specific players. But when a bunch of people represent a country in a global tournament, maybe people shouldn’t care. The gut punch in an already somber conversation comes very late in the conversation. By this time, so much sadness has accumulated between the cottages that it almost begs for comic relief.
“In Hyderabad, my only stress relief is going out to dinner with my friends. When I ask for a table, I’m told, ‘sir, there’s no seat available’. I tell them who I am, what I’ve done, and they don’t budge. But the next moment, some famous person on Instagram comes and they’re like, ‘ma’am, please go, the table is free’.”
“Maybe I should make an INSTAGRAM”
There is bitterness but also resignation in Satwik’s voice as he narrates the story. It’s almost as if he already knows who wins in the modern attention economy. Does Satwik ever wonder if he should quit badminton and pursue content creation full-time? Because what’s the point? Not a lot of money and certainly not fame. So you might as well use the reach and make Instagram famous instead, says the 25-year-old.
“Sometimes I think I will quit badminton and do Instagram. Sometimes I don’t see the point. I also have a nice reach, I will dance, sing etc and earn money. Earlier there was no support and recognition, there is none now and maybe there won’t be for the future generation,” says Satwik.
Satwik doesn’t mention it directly, but the Badminton Association of India, state governments and the Union ministry may be playing a bigger role. Since their return, none of the Thomas Cup winners have been called out by their state leaders for recognition or awards, at least not publicly. Satwik tells India Today that he knows some of his teammates will be awarded by their respective states, but he will not get anything from Andhra Pradesh.
In 2024, Satwik’s partner Chirag Shetty challenged the Maharashtra state government for listing a reward of Rs 11 million for four members of the Indian cricket team that won the T20 World Cup. “The government should treat any other sport equally,” Chirag said.
FEAR OF FORGETTING
The lifespan of an athlete is brutally short. Satwik is now 25. If he stays injury free, he will play five, maybe six more years of top badminton. The shuttler says that with the lack of recognition he’s getting now, not a single person will remember who he is when he retires from the sport.
It’s an unsettling thought for a 25-year-old who may be just figuring out his life outside of his sport. But his struggle now lies in the present, to find the recognition that he and other badminton players have earned.
“If we were even received by BAI officials or academy kids, we would have been so happy. If anyone even welcomed us at the airport, we would have been so happy. These things can also be done after a simple phone call. A medal for a country should be considered a special thing. I don’t think the country, the officials, the medal was respected. That would have been enough,” Satwik.
Satwiksiraj Rankireddy is not asking for the moon. He asks for the basic dignity of recognition in a restaurant in the city he represents.
The real tragedy here is not just the lack of flowers or the missed reception at the airport. It’s an indictment of a system that demands Olympic glory every four years while remaining fundamentally indifferent to the champions it already has. Satwiksiraj Rankireddy is a Khel Ratna awardee, a world-beater and a once-in-a-generation icon – yet he is forced to navigate a landscape that sees his excellence as an anomaly rather than a national treasure.
As India builds its pitch for the 2036 Olympics, the disillusionment of its greatest doubles player serves as a grim warning. We can build stadiums and organize global events, but if the man who conquered the world feels invisible in his streets, the “sports revolution” we speak of is empty.
– The end
Published on:
07 May 2026 09:25 IST
