They were denied at World Championships and at Singapore and Malaysia this year. Low points they dealt with by returning to the board. But Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty bounced back every single time from disappointment in 2023. And on Saturday in Hangzhou, they won a historic Asian Games gold.

No Indian shuttler had ever won the Asian Games gold medal before this.

Satwik-Chirag beat pedigreed Koreans Choi Sol Gyu and Kim Won Ho 21-18, 21-16, blazing with their attacking play and holding their nerve when trailing to give India its finest shuttle moment at the Asiad.

The sound of the Chinese national anthem had firmed up Satwik-Chirag’s resolve to go one step better than the team event where they finished with silver. Just as the bounce-back had happened at Commonwealth Games after losing to Malaysia, they did so again at Asian Games. They would get the job done against Koreans backing their steep attack, burying the shuttle into the court floor evading the defence of Choi and Kim.