Satwiksairaj Rankireddy’s Fanboy Moment with Rafael Nadal

Indian badminton star Satwiksairaj Rankireddy had a memorable fanboy moment in Paris ahead of the 2024 Olympics, meeting legendary Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal at the Olympic Village.

On Monday, Satwiksairaj shared a picture with Nadal on his Instagram story, expressing his excitement about posing “with the best.”

The Indian contingent is set to commence its journey at the Paris Olympics from July 25, with 112 athletes competing in 69 medal events across 16 sports. The Olympics will conclude on August 11, with India aiming to surpass its tally of seven medals from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which included one gold, two silvers, and four bronzes.

Satwiksairaj, along with his men’s doubles partner Chirag Shetty, is considered one of the strongest contenders for a medal. This year, the dynamic duo, also known as ‘Sat-Chi,’ has won two Badminton World Federation (BWF) Tour titles, including the French Open in March 2024 and the Thailand Open in May 2024. They also finished as runners-up in the Malaysian Open and India Open.

The pair was part of the Indian team in the 2024 Thomas Cup, defending their title but ultimately losing to eventual champions China in the quarterfinals. With a peak ranking of number one in men’s doubles, several BWF Tour titles, a World Championships bronze medal in 2022, and gold at both the Commonwealth Games 2022 and Asian Games Hangzhou, Satwiksairaj and Chirag have solidified their status as leading medal contenders.

On the tennis front, Nadal recently lost to seventh-seeded Portuguese player Nuno Borges in the final of the Nordea Open, marking his first final in nearly two years. Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, will team up with recently crowned Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s doubles at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The duo, with 15 French Open titles between them, is expected to be a formidable team, competing on the clay courts of Paris.

Nadal has been vocal about representing Spain in the Paris Olympics, which is believed to be his final year on the ATP tour as a professional. Following his first-round exit at the French Open in May, Nadal reaffirmed his commitment to competing in the Olympics.