Former Olympic medalist Mathias Boe to coach Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Reddy for Tokyo Games

India's badminton duo Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Reddy will now be coached by Denmark's former Olympic silver medallist Mathias Boe for this year's Tokyo Olympics.

Former world number one in men's doubles, Boe, won the silver medal along with Carsten Mogensen in the London Olympics 2012. The duo even won the All-England Championships in 2011 and 2015 before retiring last year.

"Badminton Association of India welcomes Olympic medallist Mathias Boe as a coach for the Indian doubles team," the governing body's secretary Ajay Singhania said.

"...We believe Boe's valuable experience and understanding of the game will help our players with the much-needed guidance."

Chirag and Satwiksairaj are ninth in the Race to Tokyo rankings, with 16 teams set to make the cut for this year's Olympics, which are due to open on July 23 after being postponed for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to Chirag, Boe's appointment comes as a psychological boost.

"He's aware of the kind of talent that exists in the top 10 and can help us better understand what needs to be done to go ahead," Shetty told the Olympic Channel.

"Moreover, Boe and Mogenson have a great record in closing out tight matches. He's someone who bossed his serve and the net game. And that's an area we need to work on."

(Inputs from Reuters)