India's resurgent men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty has soared to a career-high second spot in the latest Badminton World Federation Rankings having recently tasted success in the Korea Open.
Chirag and Satwik toppled the Chinese duo of Wang Chang and Liang Wei Keng to claim their all-time high ranking. The Indian shuttlers defeated the Chinese pair in the semifinals of the Korea Open.
The winners of the Swiss Open (Super 300), Indonesia Open (Super 1000) and the Korea Open ( Super 500) this season have aggregated a total of 87,211 points and are reaping the rewards of their purple patch.
The Asian champions have displayed remarkable form this year and are yet to concede a final in the ongoing season. From staring down the barrel of a heartbreaking defeat after being one game down in the Korea Open to defeating the world number one duo of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto, both Satwik and Chirag displayed noteworthy grit and defiance in the high-voltage summit clash.
The ongoing calendar year has been a fairytale for the Indian pair. They defeated China's Ren Xiang Yu and Tan Qiang in the Swiss Open (Super 300) in March. Their winning run went from strength to strength as they won the Badminton Asia Championships in Dubai and followed it up with another impressive title win at the Indonesia Open (Super 1000).
However, the change in the women's singles rankings isn't something to write home about as far as India is concerned. 2016 Rio Olympics silver medallist PV Sindhu has not made any splash and is currently occupying the 17th spot. Her compatriot and the bronze medal winner at the 2012 London Olympics Saina Nehwal has dropped down to the 37th spot in the latest rankings.
In the men's circuit, Denmark's Victor Axelsen is leading the charts, India's HS Prannoy is on the 10th spot, while Canada Open champion Lakshya Sen has slipped to 13.
