The Guinness Book of Records recognized Satwiksairaj Rankireddy as the fastest badminton player in the world
The recent 2023 Korean Open badminton tournament turned out to be an event with many historical milestones. The first is that female tennis player An Se Young set a series of records. The latest news is even more terrifying: 22-year-old Indian tennis player Satwiksairaj Rankireddy enters the Guinness Book of Records with the fastest badminton shot in the world. This is a terrible statistic, even though badminton fans are all too familiar with his aggressive play in the men's doubles.
In doubles with Chirag Shetty, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy beat the Guinness record of speed up to 493 km/h set by Malaysian badminton legend Tan Boon Heong on April 14 in Soka, Saitama, Japan. The referees determined Satwiksairaj Rankireddy's record shot based on the speedometer's record.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy not only became the fastest men's badminton player of all time, but also became the fastest badminton player in any event in the history of this sport. Specifically, in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Korean Open, the Indian star shocked Japanese tennis players Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi as well as the audience with a stroke of up to 500 km/h, contributing to the overall victory 21-14, 21-17 with Chirag Shetty.
To compare Satwiksairaj Rankireddy's melancholy shot, it should be known that the fastest speed of an F1 racing car is only 397.48 km/h. The speed of hitting the most terrible tennis ball in the world today is even 263 km/h. Even in badminton, other speed records are far behind him. Along with Thinaah Muralitharan, Malaysian doubles expert Pearly Tan holds the record for women's doubles hitting speed of only 438 km/h.
In the men's singles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy's compatriot Lakshya Sen currently has the fastest shot in the world but only stops at 420 km/h in the Canadian Open final of the Super 500 class. Former world No. 1 from Thailand Ratchanok Intanon holds the record for the fastest women's singles hit at just 372 km/h.
