Mumbai-based Thomas Cup-winning doubles shuttler Chirag Shetty was thrilled to learn that his shirtless celebration on Sunday broke the Internet.
Chirag and his partner Satwiksairaj Rankireddy were ecstatic after beating the fancied Indonesian pair of Mohammad Ahsan and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 18-21, 23-21, 21-19 to seal a 3-0 win for India in the summit clash of the world team event in Bangkok.
While Satwick was jumping with joy, Chirag took off his shirt to celebrate India’s maiden win in the prestigious 70-plus year team competition. Chirag’s celebration was instantly compared to former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly’s iconic shirtless moment on the Lord’s cricket ground balcony after the NatWest Trophy victory over England in 2002.
Lost control
“I was very instinctive. Emotions ran high and I just removed my shirt. At such moments, you don’t really have any control over things. I simply flung my shirt towards the rest of our teammates in the dugout. And yes, later I heard that it has been trending on Twitter and that it was being compared to [Sourav] Ganguly’s celebration at Lords. It definitely feels great,” Shetty told mid-day on Monday.
Speaking about his role in India’s historic victory, Goregaon resident Chirag said: “I’m very happy that I could be a part of this team. This team had the ability, there was no doubt about it, but more than that, it was the will and urge to win that got us this title. It feels surreal to share this feeling with the other nine members of the team.”
In the final, Lakshya Sen first beat Indonesia’s Anthony Ginting 8-21, 21-17, 21-16 in the men’s singles rubber. Chirag said that this early win took the pressure off the doubles team.
Lakshya Sen started it
“After Lakshya took the first match, we definitely got this huge boost because it eased some of the pressure off our shoulders. Then, [coach] Mathias Boe and we devised a plan and I’m glad that it worked for the most part of our game,” added Chirag. After Sen and the doubles win, Kidambi Srikanth beat Asian Games gold medallist Jonatan Christie 21-15, 23-21 to seal India’s 3-0 victory.
