Indian shuttler Satwiksairaj Rankireddy's father, R Kasi Viswanatham, passed away from a cardiac arrest on Thursday morning. The tragic incident happened just before he was set to travel to New Delhi to meet his son and attend the ceremony where Satwik was to receive the prestigious Khel Ratna award.

Satwik, who is currently in Delhi for the 43rd PSPB Inter-Unit badminton tournament, will leave for Andhra Pradesh this afternoon to be with his family. His father, a retired physical education teacher, had planned to join him for the special occasion but sadly passed away before making the trip.

Satwik’s Achievements in Badminton

Satwik, who plays men’s doubles with Chirag Shetty, has been a key figure in Indian badminton. The duo won gold at the 2022 Asian Games, the 2022 Commonwealth Games, and the 2023 Asian Championships.

They are also the only Indian pair to reach No. 1 in the BWF World Rankings and win a BWF World Tour Super 1000 title.

In 2023, Satwik set a Guinness World Record for the fastest badminton smash by a male player at 565 km/h. He had shared a touching video of his father unwrapping the certificate, celebrating the achievement.

Satwik-Chirag’s Recent Performance

Satwik and Chirag were recently eliminated from the India Open 2025 after losing 18-21, 14-21 to Indonesia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin in the men’s doubles semifinals. This was their second consecutive semifinal exit of the season, having previously lost in the Malaysia Open to South Korea’s Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae.