Indian shuttler Satwiksairaj Rankireddy bereaved, loses father
New Delhi, Feb 20 (PTI): Asian Games champion shuttler Satwiksairaj Rankireddy's father R Kasi Viswanatham died of cardiac arrest on Thursday morning.
Satwik, currently in the national capital for the 43rd PSPB Inter-Unit badminton tournament, was scheduled to receive the prestigious Khel Ratna award on Thursday. His father, a retired physical education teacher, was set to travel to join him for the ceremony but tragically passed away before he could make the trip.
"It is extremely sad and unfortunate that Satwik has lost his father this morning," said a source close to the family.
The 24-year-old from Amalapuram will depart for Andhra Pradesh this afternoon to be with his family.
Satwik, who forms a formidable men’s doubles pair with Chirag Shetty, has been a trailblazer in Indian badminton. The duo, which won gold at the 2022 Asian Games, the 2022 Commonwealth Games, and the 2023 Asian Championships, is the only Indian doubles pair to hold the No. 1 spot in the BWF World Rankings and win a BWF World Tour Super 1000 title.
In 2023, Satwik also set a Guinness World Record for the fastest badminton smash by a male player, reaching a speed of 565 km/h. He had shared a heartwarming video on social media featuring his father unwrapping his Guinness World Record certificate.
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Dragging Gaurav's family, children into 'Pak link' allegation by Assam CM wrong politics: Priyanka
Guwahati (PTI): Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday criticised Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for attacking Gaurav Gogoi over alleged Pakistan links, asserting that dragging his family and children into it is "wrong politics".
After paying homage to Zubeen Garg at his cremation ground 'Zubeen Khetra' at Sonapur on the outskirts of Guwahati, Vadra said the singer was "above politics" and spread the message of love throughout his life.
"There are two types of leaders in politics -- one who does positive politics and the other who does polarisation. Gaurav Gogoi is doing the politics of love," she said when asked about Sarma's repeated attacks on the Assam Congress chief over alleged Pakistan links.
Vadra asserted that Gogoi is "a positive person, and wants to bring positivity in politics".
"That is why such attacks on him are taking place. People of Assam understand this. But the attacks on Gaurav and his family are the wrong politics. Nobody should attack the family and children (of a political leader)," Vadra said.
Instead of such politics, the Assam CM should "talk about the youth and women of the state, who are looking for jobs", the Wayanad MP said.
"You are seeing how much corruption is taking place. It is just a betrayal of the people of the state," she told reporters.
Talking about her visit to 'Zubeen Khetra' in the morning, Vadra said that she went to the cremation ground to pay her respect to the singer and not do any politics over it.
"Zubeen Garg was above politics. His cremation ground should be a sacred place and should not be used for politics," she added.
VIDEO | Guwahati: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) says, "When we contest elections and talk about leadership in politics, there are two kinds of leaders. One is a positive leader — someone with a positive mindset. Such leaders tell you what they want to do for… pic.twitter.com/52z4HwRitg
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 20, 2026
