Jakarta joy?: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (right) and Chirag Shetty will face national pair Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun in the first round.
PETALING JAYA: Will India’s men’s doubles coach Mathias Boe leave his position after the Paris Olympics?
There are indications that the Dane, who has been credited for the rise of world No. 1 pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty, will part ways with his charges when his contract expires on August 15.
The badminton competition in the Olympics will be held from July 27-August 5.
According to the Times of India, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) will most likely not renew Boe’s contract regardless of Satwiksairaj-Chirag’s results in the Olympics as they are looking to hire a homegrown coach.
It’s learnt that Boe has commanded a substantial salary and made unreasonable demands during his personal travels and when touring with the Indian pair.
If Boe does not stay on, it will be a blow to the Indian pair.
The 43-year-old started coaching Satwiksairaj-Chirag in 2021 and the pair went on to help India win a historic Thomas Cup crown in 2022 and captured gold in the Hangzhou Asian Games last October.
The duo also triumphed in the Asian Championships and won seven World Tour titles including the Super 1000 Indonesian Open last year and reached No. 1 in the world rankings.
Boe might be waving goodbye to Satwiksairaj-Chirag but could guide the pair to the gold in Paris before leaving.
The pair are one of the favourites for the title and could create history by becoming the first Indians to win a gold in badminton in the Olympics.
While the Olympics are their ultimate target, for now, Satwiksairaj-Chirag will be focusing on defending their Indonesian Open title.
The duo will face national pair Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun in the first round today.
Meanwhile, the other Malaysian representatives in the men’s doubles are last year’s runners-up Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, youngsters Choong Hon Jian-Mohd Haikal Nazri and independent pair Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong.
