Riding on an all-time high after winning back-to-back Super Series titles at Indonesia and Australia, India’s Kidambi Srikanth feels that his country is well placed to clinch a medal in next month’s World Championships, which will be held in Glasgow.
Three Indians – Srikanth, B Sai Praneeth and Ajay Jayaram –have qualified in the men’s singles category for the tournament, which will be held between August 21 and 27.
“I think we all are playing well. I can’t really say if we will definitely win a medal. We have a chance for sure but we have to be 100 per cent on that day and every match,” Srikanth was quoted as saying by PTI. “We have to play consistently well, because it is such a big tournament and everyone prepares really hard,” he added.
Talking about the level of competition, Srikanth talked up his compatriot HS Prannoy’s recent feats, which included beating one of the game’s iconic figures and the Olympic champion in consecutive matches. He said: “I think everyone in top 30-35 are playing well. If you actually see HS Prannoy was 29 before Indonesia Open and he beat Chen Long and Lee Chong Wei in successive matches. So everyone in the top 35 are playing well.”
“The game now is definitely physical for sure. You have to be really alert on the court, move well, for an hour, so it is more physical then skills. But I think the level of the game is growing in the other players as well.”
Srikanth, who reached three successive Super Series finals, believes he is peaking at the right time for the season’s biggest prize, “It has been fantastic the last one month. Right from Singapore Open, it has been great. I have received more than what I have asked for, so I am very happy. I don’t know how to express,” Srikanth said.
“I’m peaking at the right time. I am really happy how I played last one month. I really want to train hard for the next few weeks ahead of the tournament and play consistently at the World championship,” he added.
The 24-year-old said he never stopped believing in himself during the injury lay-off after the Rio Olympics and it helped him make a successful comeback. “I never lost the chance of being in team. After winning the China Open I won the India Open in 2015. I managed to win the Syed Modi in 2016 and then lost the Olympic quarters by just a point. So I have been playing well in the important tournaments,” he said.
“The matches I lost were very close one, three sets. It is not easy but I always believed that if I can continue working hard, I can do well and I am happy everything worked for me,” he added.
The Guntur-based lad, however, said the post-Olympics injury changed his life and thanked chief coach Pullela Gopichand and Indonesian coach Mulyo Handoyo for the turnaround.
“The injury part changed me. My approach towards training and the way I trained with Gopi sir and our new Indonesian coach Mulyo, it really worked for me,” Srikanth said.
“I think we only had Gopi sir before and now we have Mulyo, who has seen the highest level of badminton and with both of their inputs, it has really helped me.
“Now two people are working to improve Indian badminton and it is really working for us.”
Battles with Chen Long and Son Wan Ho
Talking about his match against Chen Long in the Australian Open final, Srikanth said: “Against Chen Long, I think how I was playing before that match gave me the confidence. Our last few matches were close, so I thought to give 10 per cent more. All earlier matches helped me to give that 10 per cent.”
Srikanth describes the semifinal clash against World No. 1 Son Wan Ho of Korea as one of the tougher matches he has been involved in, “Semi-final match in Indonesia Open was a tough match. Son Wan was playing well. It was challenging. My strategy worked. Everything worked well for me,” he said.
