2023 was a truly memorable year for Indian sport. With so much having happened, ESPN India picks ten images that tell the story of the most stunning moments we witnessed over the year. Our second pick is a moment of pure student-teacher respect from badminton giants Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.
Indian sports fans have become accustomed to Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty's lively celebrations after major wins in the last couple of years. There is the dancing, the taking-off-the-tee, the Chirag jumping onto Satwik's arms, then the more thematic dancing, all punctuated by roars of energy and sometimes flat-out relief. It's all passion and animation and heart-warming... and becoming more frequent as the men's doubles pair achieve new heights for Indian badminton.
But there was something unique about how Sat-Chi celebrated when they did something no Indian ever had at an Asian Games -- win a badminton gold medal.
Mind you, the gold medal itself was not unexpected: they are at that level now where a first ever Asiad gold was more of a target than just a hope.
But it was Satwik's reaction after winning the gold that stands out in this victory story.
Gold medal point. The shuttle goes long, and the Indians win, with relative ease. Chirag, the fire of this pairing, sits on the ground celebration. On the sidelines, coaches Mathias Boe is pumping his hands in joy while P Gopichand has a beatific smile on his face.
Where is Satwik? He's not in the frame at first. You have to see a angle different from the highlights by the official broadcaster to see him properly.
Satwik is on the floor too. But not in celebration. In prostration. In gratitude. With his folded hands held outstretched, he is bowing down in the traditional Sashtang Dandvat Pranam to his gurus, the coaches on the sidelines.
The camera zooms out and you see that it's after this only that he gets up to celebrate with the team, with all the energy associated with this pair.
Satwik and Chirag have achieved great things this year - five titles, including India's first every Super 1000 trophy and the world No 1 ranking as well. And yet, it is this small action that stands out in their trophy-studded season as Sat-Chi's moment of the year for ESPN India.
A moment so authentic, so quintessentially Indian yet so universal in sentiment, it truly elevated the significance of the win. A win that made Indian sporting history. And it was done by this consistently improving team, who handled extreme pressure and competition, while still retaining their authenticity and humility.
Their goals for the year were: "to win a medal at the Asian Games and be in the top 2 or 3 in the world." That medal turned out to be gold, in a draw that had the Olympic champions, the reigning and former world champions as well as China and Indonesia's top pairs. It was, as Chirag later said, the most important title of the year.
And the celebration of this important was a telling gesture. Satwik and Chirag are a different breed of Indian athletes, on and off the court.