Indian badminton player Satwiksairaj Rankireddy created a new Guinness world record for the fastest smash by shattering the previous record which had stood for ten years. The record achieved on April 14, 2023 at the Yonex Tokyo Factory in Japan was confirmed by the Guinness World Record officials.

Satwiksairaj shot of 565 kmph, was 73 km/hr faster than the previous record of 493 km/hr set in May 2013 by Malaysian player Tan Boon Heong, a former Asian Games doubles champion. In the women’s category Pearly Tan of Malaysia holds the record for a 438 km/hr smash.

"Since the previous Guinness world records title for the fastest badminton hit was recorded in May 2013, it means that Satwiksairaj broke the record for the first time in more than a decade," Yonex, the Japanese sports equipment manufacturing company said in a release.

According to Yonex, the moments of impact in the actual smash was captured using a high-speed camera, while the instant velocity of the shuttlecock after the impact was calculated from the photographic recording. Rankireddy used a Yonex Nanoflare 1000 Z racquet for the record-breaking shot.

The third-seeded Indian men's doubles team of Satwiksairaj and Chirag Shetty defeated Supak Jomkoh/Kittinupong Kedren of Thailand 21-16, 21-14 to advance into the pre-quarterfinals of the Korea Open. The top singles players from India in the Korean Open 2023 include Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth, and HS Prannoy.