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Indian badminton star Satwiksairaj Rankireddy suffered a tragic personal loss as his father, R Kasi Viswanatham, passed away due to cardiac arrest on Thursday morning. The heartbreaking incident occurred just before Viswanatham was set to travel to New Delhi to witness his son receive the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.
“It is extremely sad and unfortunate that Satwik has lost his father this morning,” a source close to the family was quoted as saying by PTI.
Viswanatham, a retired physical education teacher, had planned to accompany his wife Rangamani for the special occasion. However, while traveling in a car with his wife and a friend from Amalapuram to Rajahmundry airport in Andhra Pradesh, he suffered a fatal cardiac arrest. Viswanatham was rushed to a hospital but was declared brought dead.
Satwik returns home for the funeral
Satwik, who is currently in New Delhi for the 43rd PSPB Inter-Unit Badminton Tournament, has reportedly left for Andhra Pradesh to be with his grieving family. He was slated to receive India’s highest sporting honour from President Droupadi Murmu this week. Satwik was awarded the Khel Ratna award in 2023 along with his partner Chirag Shetty. They had won multiple international titles that year including gold at the 2022 Asian Games, 2022 Commonwealth Games, and the 2023 Asian Championships.
Satwik and Chirag are also the only Indian doubles pair to hold the No. 1 spot in the BWF World Rankings.
In December 2023, Satwik had shared a heartfelt video of his father unwrapping his Guinness Book of World Records title for recording the fastest smash by a men’s player (565 kmph in 2023).
Recently, Satwik and Chirag bowed out of the India Open 2025 after suffering an 18-21, 14-21 defeat against Indonesia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin in the men’s doubles semifinals. The loss in January marked their second consecutive semifinal exit of the season, following a similar outcome at the Malaysia Open.
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