Mathias Boe calls it quits after Satwik-Chirag's Olympic exit

Mathias Boe, the coach of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, on Saturday announced his retirement from coaching following the ace Indian badminton pair's exit from the ongoing Paris Olympics.

Satwik and Chirag lost to Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the men's doubles quarterfinals 21-13, 14-21, 16-21 in Paris on Thursday.

Boe, a silver medal winner in the London Olympics, had joined Chirag and Satwik as their coach ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

"For me, my coaching days ends here, I'm not going to continue in India or anywhere else, for now at least. I have spent too much time in a badminton hall and it's also pretty stressful to be a coach, I'm a tired old man," the 44-year-old from Denmark wrote on his Instagram account.

Satwik and Chirag were hot favourites to go the distance in the men's doubles section at Paris, and Boe consoled them.

"I know the feeling all too well myself. Pushing yourself to the limit every day, to be in the best shape of your life, and then things doesn't go as you would have hoped for.

"I know you guys are gutted, I know how much you wanted to bring a medal back to India, but this time it wasn't meant to be," Boe said.

Boe, however, said he is leaving the position as a satisfied man despite his wards failing to return from Paris with a medal.

"You have everything to be proud of, how hard you have worked in this Olympics camp, battling injuries, even taken injections to reduce the pain, that is dedication, that is passion and that is a lot of Heart," he wrote.

• THE OLYMPICS, 2024