Satwik admits that the pressure came on him and Chirag in shock that they were leaving the Asian Games

Satwiksaraj Rankireddy said the relentless pressure exerted by Thailand’s Pakkapon Teeraratsakul and Peeratchai Sukphun came as a shock to him and Chirag Shetty as the world No.5 pair in their first-round exit from the Asian Games on Friday.

The Indians, who were part of the men’s team that won the bronze medal after losing 1-3 to China in the semifinals on Wednesday, started strongly but could not sustain the momentum. After winning the opening game 21-12, Satwik and Chirag were stunned 12-21, 21-19, 21-14 in the competition one hour and eight minutes.

“Kudos to them. They kept pressuring us. They kept poking us. I think we didn’t do it in key parts. I think we could have had a different script in (the middle of) the second game. They played a little more freely than we did,” Satwik said.

“They’ve been playing the same rhythm for three games, but I think we’re the ones who gave them a chance to come into the game and give them confidence. We were high, we were low, we were high, low. I think that was the difference.”

Satwik admitted that a tough schedule, with the pair playing in the men’s team competition before returning to defend their doubles crown, added to the challenge.

“It will be tight because it will be difficult to play in the team event. We are here until 12 o’clock last night and we are playing one of the good games right away. So it will not be easy, but we have prepared,” he said.

THE MENTAL BATTLE WILL PROVE DECISIVE

The Indian pair struggled to find their rhythm after a dominant opening game, with Satwik admitting their mental approach remains an area they need to work on.

“It’s the mental part. Whenever we’re mentally free, I think nobody can beat us. But when we get stuck somewhere, we give our opponents a chance to beat us,” he said.

Satwik also insisted that the pressure was not specifically due to being the defending champions and instead pointed to the importance of mental preparation for big tournaments.

“There was no pressure on us. It’s every day, the same matches, the same players. But it’s about how you prepare mentally for the tournament,” he said.

CHIRAG STREETS MISSED CHANCES

Chirag felt the pair could have adapted better after Thailand fought their way back into the competition and admitted they needed to be calmer and smarter.

“We weren’t up to par. We started well but the second and third games we didn’t play the right game and they caught us,” he said.

“We knew they were going to play a lot of crosses and stuff. We could have picked it up a little bit and played a little bit more calmly. Credit to them, they didn’t let us go after that. But yeah, we could have been a little bit smarter.”

Defeat ended Satwik and Chirag’s Asian Games title defense at the first hurdle, and the pair had to regroup and address the mental and tactical flaws exposed by the Thai duo.

– The end