Top Indian men’s doubles player Chirag Shetty on Tuesday admitted it was difficult to come to terms with the early exit from the Tokyo Games but said he and his partner would look to utilise the Olympic experience to win medals at the upcoming events, especially the World Championships in December.
Chirag and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, ranked World no. 10, won two of their three group matches but failed to qualify for the knockout stage after games won by each pair were considered to decide the two qualifiers following a three-way tie.
“It was kind of good and sad experience for us as we had to go out early,” said Chirag, who is the Event Ambassador of Mumbai Ultra Run to be held on Aug. 15, during a virtual press conference.
“I thought we would go to quarterfinals after the win on the first day but unfortunately three pairs, including us, won two matches each and it was decided by games won, so it was unfortunate but overall it was a good experience.”
The 24-year-old from Mumbai is now targeting the upcoming major events such as Sudirman Cup (September 26-October 03), Thomas Cup (October 9-17) and World Championships (December 12-19).
“There are a lot of positives to take from the Olympics, we played well game-wise and there are a lot of tournaments coming up like the Sudirman Cup, Thomas Cup and World Championship in December.
“So we will look to do well in these events and hopefully we can come back with a medal.”
