[ad_1]
There’s a 20-year-old Olympic medal-sized heartbreak that Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty can help mend if they step on the podium in Paris next year. The 2003 sting in cricket couldn’t be undone in 2023, but a 2004 Olympic sniffle and sob can be upturned into a smile in a racquet sport in 2024.
They were adored in Indian sport. It had the potential to become a personal all-time favourite Olympic medal, such was the emotional investment in that match that lasted over four hours going deep into an Athenian abyss of a dark night. And ended in a 7-6 (5), 4-6, 16-14 heartbreak that has been nursed for years, but never patched back to find closure.
The year was 2004 and India didn’t used to be winning Olympic medals very much across sports. Hockey was in deep freeze, with cold stabs of disappointments. Sure, Leander Paes had his individual bronze in 1996 at Atlanta, and Karnam Malleshwari and RVS Rathore followed to open things up for newer sports.
But the Paes – Mahesh Bhupathi magic from 1999 onwards, leading up to the 2004 Games, was a source of pure glee and pride for most Indians watching global sport. They were easily loved as much as Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid & Kumble. You rooted for this Indian pairing to win, prayed they would tide over their differences, and shed copious tears – the only time ever for an Olympic miss – when Ivan Ljubicic and Mario Ancic broke the Paes serve at 14-15 in the third set decider, after all four had refused to blink on serve in some of the tautest entertaining tennis played at a Games.
2001 had the Kolkata Test and Pullela Gopichand’s All England – two feats of giddy defiance – and Viswanathan Anand had begun stringing his World Championships in 2000. But a doubles combination in a racquet sport, in tennis, who had tasted bountiful Grand Slam success, and were a brilliant pair to watch with their chemistry and energy, made them an irresistible draw at the Olympics.
Having beaten Roddick – Mardy Fish in the opener, outsmarting Federer – Allegro in Round 2 and Wayne Black – Kevin Ullyet in quarters, Paes-Bhupathi had gathered some steam before losing to Germans Kiefer-Schuettler in semis. But the bronze match would become a riveting watch, as the Indians fought back in the second, and the third set saw the two pairs dig their heels in, and not give an inch. The country remained glued to TV sets, as the contest got enticing by the passing minute. You wanted them to win so bad. And then heartbreak hit. A dream sunk.
The subsequent attempt in 2008 to nail down the medal, wouldn’t bear fruit. Their partnership frayed at the edges and couldn’t last the rigours of passing time and stubborn egos. Every Davis Cup win was a reminder of how fantastic and fragile simultaneously, the combine was. India’s finest to watch when they strutted and chest bumped, the roiling end to their association fractured a joint legacy, though if just the good times are to be remembered there’s no better source of a smile than their heyday. The feeling vamoozed. Mahesh Bhupathi even retired without being conferred a Khel Ratna, a travesty to this day, which would’ve never panned out had they won that Olympic medal. Several fourth-place heartbreaks have played out at the Olympics, but theirs will sting the most.
The Indian Express redux
Twenty years on, it’s a different racquet sport. But once again, Satwik-Chirag raise hopes of two strapping Indians combining to give goosebumps. Their partnership weathered the early teething troubles of contrasting personalities and varied backgrounds. They have consciously made an effort – cajoled and convinced by coaches and families – to build a strong bedrock of friendship so tensions don’t disturb the equilibrium. The coaching bit is stable. Results have gotten better year after year.
Both are devoted to excellence the same way Paes and Bhupathi were and leave a lump in the throat every time they win a final. It’s an emotional connect, the same you feel for the cricket, hockey and now national football teams. It’s sentiment staked in a pair’s success, because just like Paes-Bhupathi, they are the outlier best amongst Indians, higher in the stratosphere than the rest of us. A team you root for with fingers crossed, jumpy feet, and silly superstitions.
The on-court skills are world-class. Like Leander, Chirag is a live wire at the net. Like Bhupathi, Satwik has the cool smarts and a killer return from the backcourt. It’s edge-of-the-seat excitement whenever they play, and they go toe to toe with all the Bryan twins of badminton. Like the tennis duo lit up Davis Cup ties, the two have brought India the Thomas Cup in a team event. They are a hoot in interactions, and great ambassadors for their sport. They go by SatChi and await a catchy nickname, but are competent inheritors of The Indian Express tag, even if it’s a different sport.
If the Jai-Veeru nostalgia of the 70s was projected on Paes-Bhupathi in the 90s – at least you hoped in the trope, never mind how it panned out – Satwik-Chirag have more of a chuckling Amar-Prem comic vibe to them. They’re a hoot, more chilled about success and failure, with a joke at hand always, and in hindsight to deal with the two extremes. Either ways, you root for the duo to win. Like Paes & Bhupathi, they don’t come from the northern belt from where most recent Indian male medallists have emerged.
Twenty years after the Athens tears, you hope an Indian pair brings in the Olympic medal and the goofy grins from Paris in 2024.
It’s a bit of an unfinished business, this men’s doubles medal in a racquet sport.