Tan Kim Her says 2028 Olympics is main target after returning as Satwik-Chirag’s coach
Tan Kim Her says 2028 Olympics is main target after returning as Satwik-Chirag’s coach
Malaysian Tan Kim Her was responsible for one of the most inspired decisions in Indian badminton when in 2016 he decided to pair up Chirag Shetty with Satwik Rankireddy. The bond between the three was a tight one – with Satwik recently saying the pair called coach Tan – Daddy.
However, while he might have been the one to start and nurture their partnership, Tan never got the ending he wanted with the pair. Coach Tan left the Indian coaching setup in 2019 before the duo would achieve their greatest achievements — winning the Asian Games gold and securing a world championships medal under another coach.
After a disappointing end to the 2024 Olympics though, when they went from being prime medal contenders to exiting in the quarterfinal–Chirag and Satwik decided to join hands once again with coach Tan after a gap of nearly 5 years.
In their second competition together – they reached the semifinal of the 2025 India Open World Tour 750 – to the World number two pair of Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin.
It’s a result that fell short of the expectations Tan has for the pair but he has a long roadmap laid out for them. In an interview with Sportstar, he says it leads all the way to the 2028 Olympics where he says he wants to put a bow on the trio’s partnership.
At the starting point, we are playing the right game and controlling things. Then suddenly there were a few points where they started flicking some good serves. Both Satwik and Chirag got confused with that and got stuck. We weren’t putting any pressure on them while receiving the shuttle. We lost today because we didn’t receive that well and gave them a chance to get back into the match.
I think we started discussing about working together once again after the Olympics when (Former coach Matthias) Boe decided to resign as coach of Chirag and Satwik. Chirag was the one who reached out to me. He asked me when my contract with Japan would get over and I told him it would end in March this year. He asked me if I could come back before then and I said yeah.
I think winning and losing is part of the game. I think at the Olympics everyone wants to see just how you are able to handle the kind of pressure you face. If you handle it well, you have a chance to win a medal. I think 50 per cent of the challenge of the Olympics is mental. You might be very strong when you go in but with the pressure, your hands start to feel stiff and suddenly you can’t do anything.
It’s a little bit about what happened in today’s (India Open semifinal) game. We started the tournament really well. We were the ones putting pressure on the opponents. But once they started putting pressure on us with their serve we started to tense up. It’s part of the game, but it’s important that we find a way to come back stronger even if we lose.
I wanted to come back because I felt that my work with them wasn’t complete. My work in India was not finished. I was the one who first paired Satwik and Chirag in 2017. But although I was the one who started their pairing, I didn’t get a good ending with them. So I was thinking why shouldn’t I start working with them again. I wanted to have a good closure to our relationship at the 2028 Olympics.
A good end is not just my dream. It’s their dream as well. I told them when I started working with them that our target was going to be the 2028 Olympics. That might be the last professional assignment for me too. I’m also thinking of taking it easy after that. So that tournament has become my final target. That tournament is my dream and these two boys are what gives me hope that I can accomplish it.
I don’t just want to do it for me but for them as well. I’ve seen them up close when they were still very early in their career. I really think I can bring a good end to this relationship. It will be a good end to my career as well to be able not just to start a great pairing but also to build it up as well. I can say that I started working with Chirag and Satwik, not just for them but also for myself.
When I first paired the two of them, it was actually Chirag who wasn’t at the same level as Satwik. It was Satwik who was the dominant partner. But when I saw them again after three years I found that it was Chirag who had become the more dominant partner.
I was wondering what had happened to Satwik and why was he like this quiet person. Why was he not moving as much? Why was he just constantly waiting for the shuttle? So I spoke to him and asked him why he was playing the way he was. It used to be that he was the key maker of the points in the game. I wanted to see him play like that once again.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that I don’t want Chirag not to dominate the game either. I want him to dominate as well. It can’t be that Satwik starts to dominate and Chirag starts to become quiet. I want both of them to dominate. But I need Satwik to play a bigger role in the team.
They are getting better but they need to get even better. If you look at the Korean pairs, Chinese pairs and even some of the Malaysian pairs, you see how solid they are in their defence. If you compare our defence to that yet, you know they aren’t at the same level. We have to work on this.
As long as a player is disciplined, it is manageable. If you are not disciplined and lack commitment, then you can’t last until the next Olympics because your body won’t support you and your age catches up to you. But if you are disciplined and take care of your body and really enjoy the game, then as you can see some of the European players, you can play until you are 35 or 36. As long as you really want it and are disciplined, you can do it.
No, I don’t think this is an easier year. I always keep my targets in front of me. You can’t say there are no major competitions. Satwik and Chirag still haven’t won the All England. They haven’t won a World Championship Gold or the World Tour finals either. These are three major competitions right there. I want them to at least have a chance in them.
I want them to maintain a level of consistency. I want to see them regularly make the final or semifinal of the World Tour 750 and 1000 tournaments. I want them to at least make a semifinal. If you can’t maintain that level it is still understandable but they at least can’t lose to players who are lower ranked than them. But I really want them to make the semifinals and finals of the big tournaments. Only when they do that consistently will things suddenly come right in one of the tournaments and help them go all the way and win it.
