We missed this opportunity, next target is Tour Finals: SatChi’s coach Tan Kim Her after World Championships bronze

Indian doubles coach Tan Kim Her praised Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty for winning a bronze medal at the BWF World Championships but rued the missed opportunity, saying the doubles specialists needed to work more on their fitness to go the distance.

The world No. 9 pair notched up a commanding win over Malaysia’s two-time Olympic medallists Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the quarterfinals to secure its second World Championships medal.

However, its bid to become the first Indian men’s doubles pair to reach the final fell short after a defeat to China’s Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi in the semifinals.

“Actually, I was targeting this World Championship final, but unfortunately they lost yesterday,” Tan told PTI.

“Still, they have been playing quite well from day one till yesterday. This year we have made at least four to five semifinals, though we haven’t reached any finals yet.

“The progress is there, everything is okay. Only thing is, we missed this opportunity yesterday. But I still give credit to the boys, they did well.”

Tan, 53, feels the pair needs to do better physically to be ready for the final stretch of deciding games.

“We still need to improve physically. After beating the Chinese pair (Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang) earlier and others, I could see both of them were a little tired, though they still managed. But I think they can be fitter, especially for the last stretch of deciding games,” the coach said.

“Overall, I would say this was their best performance, especially against China and Malaysia. Now, hopefully everything stays okay, and my next target for them is the Super Series Finals. Of course, there are other tournaments coming up, but our main focus is the Super Series Finals.”

A year ago, Satwik and Chirag had missed out on a medal at the Paris Olympics after losing to Chia and Soh, and one of the highlights of this week was the win over the same pair in the quarterfinals which sealed their medal. Chia and Soh had beaten the Indians in Singapore and China earlier this year as well.

“Before the game, we did a lot of video analysis. We had played the Malaysian pair recently, where we lost. So we studied those matches, discussed what we could do, what to be aware of. Going into this match, the plan was in place,” Tan said.

“They were good in defence, in service and receive [receiving]. The only thing missing was self-confidence, which is the most important part.”

On Saturday, Satwik and Chirag squandered an 11-6 lead to lose the opening game but came back well to win the second. In the decider, however, they quickly fell behind 1-9, which diminished their chances.

“We didn’t get the front play. The Chinese were pushing us a lot with their service, mixing it up randomly, and that made our players confused about where to intercept,” Tan said.

“Suddenly, both of them didn’t know what to do, and everything they played was intercepted by the Chinese. They were under pressure and out of ideas. Normally both of them are very good in attack, but yesterday the Chinese defence was solid, forced them into errors.

“We tried to kill a few shots but couldn’t finish the rallies, and that made us tired and panicky,” he added.

The Chinese also used the flick serve effectively to trouble Chirag.

Credited with bringing Satwik and Chirag together during his first stint in India between 2015 and 2019, Tan returned last December for a second innings following the exit of Danish coach Mathias Boe after a poor show at the Paris Olympics.

“I’m back in India after five-and-a-half years, I was not with the players all this time but they have been progressing quite well. They won the Asian Games, followed by a few Open tournaments.

“Then, right after the Olympics, they suffered a very bad injury. So, when I took over, I felt I had to start by analysing and understanding them first before I could set my programme.”

Satwik and Chirag have had to endure a difficult phase marked by injuries, poor form and personal loss. Satwik suffered back and elbow injuries that delayed his return after the Olympics. Just as he recovered, tragedy struck with the passing of his father due to a cardiac arrest in February, before he was sidelined again by chickenpox. Chirag, meanwhile, struggled with a recurring back injury that took time to heal.

“I was quite worried about their injuries because we can see now that both of them get injured quite often. Just before England, Chirag got injured. Now Satwik is okay, and both of them are doing fine,” the Malaysian said.

“I had to control the volume in training, sometimes give them breaks in between so that their bodies can recover. I also work very closely with the trainer, especially in the gym, and with the physios to manage these small issues.”

Tan said his priority is to win the big titles. “After going through this for a few months, I came up with a programme. I told them there are certain things we cannot do, and that recovery has to be a priority,” the 53-year-old said.

“I also told them we cannot play every tournament, because it’s not possible to win every time. We have to choose the major tournaments — like the All England, World Championships, Asian Games, Olympics.”

Published on Aug 31, 2025