It wasn’t the best of days for India at the BWF World Championships. Of the four matches that Indians were competing in, only Srikanth Kidambi managed a win.
The former world no 1 managed to beat a tricky opponent in Pablo Abian in straight games. There were quite a few unforced errors but the Indian had enough quality in the tank to win 21-12, 21-16.
“I am quite happy, always good to start well, Srikanth said in the mixed zone later. “Pablo is someone who has the potential to trouble any player. If you actually saw him play at the German Open [Hylo Open] he played really well in a close match against Lee Zii Jia. And even when I played him at the World Championships a few years it was a close one. Quite happy with the way I played and looking forward to the next round.”
The big plus for Srikanth though is that he is slowly starting to consistently play at a higher level. His movement around the court is better and so is his shot-making. A loss of form and injuries consigned him to many early exits in the last two years but these are encouraging signs.
“I am happy that I can see the progress [with my form in the last few months],” said Srikanth. “I just want to train and train and train, and get better. I want to play my best here and when I go back to India, study what went wrong recently and work on it. It is a continuous process.”
He added: “I wanted to keep it simple and start well, was able to do it. It was about being consistent through the match, not giving him easy points.”
In the second round, Srikanth faces another tricky opponent, Li Shi Feng of China.