Best is yet to come, says Kidambi Srikanth

Hyderabad: Kidambi Srikanth has had a tough last four years. Having won four Super Series titles in 2017 that propelled him to the world no.1 in rankings, Srikanth failed to live up to the expectations with his career marred with injuries and inconsistent performances. On Tuesday, the 28-year-old was all smiles at the Pullela Gopichand […]

Hyderabad: Kidambi Srikanth has had a tough last four years. Having won four Super Series titles in 2017 that propelled him to the world no.1 in rankings, Srikanth failed to live up to the expectations with his career marred with injuries and inconsistent performances.

On Tuesday, the 28-year-old was all smiles at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy on his return to the city from Spain where he scripted history by becoming the only Indian shuttler to win a silver at the BWF World Championships. Legendary shuttler Prakash Padukone and B Sai Praneeth won bronze medals in 1983 and 2019 respectively.

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But does this medal make him the best male shuttler from the country? “I can’t say that. I don’t want to think like that now. I need to win many more medals. There are very crucial tournaments coming up like the All England, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. I want to win as many medals as possible when I am fit. Maybe after my retirement, it is for the people to decide whether I am the best male shuttler in the country. But as long as I am playing, I won’t say I am the best player from the country,” was his answer.

Speaking on the historic medal, Srikanth said, “It feels great to play the final. It was a special tournament for everyone. The best is yet to come. I want to put my head down and work hard. I am ready to work with Gopi anna (Pullela Gopichand) and improve my game. There is no time to celebrate as we have the Indian Open next and then All England, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and other important tournaments. These next eight months are very crucial.”

“I think this is the best phase of my career, even better than 2017 (where he had a dream run). I feel the injury phase is over and the aim is to maintain form and perform consistently,” he elaborated.

The former World No.1 said he was not thinking too far, and was focusing on one match at a time. “I started playing from September and I improved my game from tournament to tournament. I have been playing well consistently. I played semifinals in Germany and in Indonesia. I peaked at the right time for this tournament and that helped me. I believed in myself.”

He revealed that missing the Olympics was a big disappointment but realised that Olympics was not the end of the world. “During the first phase of Olympic qualifiers, I was injured. But when the second phases started, I was fit and confident of qualifying for the Games. But many tournaments were cancelled due to the pandemic and hampered my chances,” he said.

When asked whether playing tough three-game matches in the run up to the final against Loh Kean Yew of Singapore had a bearing on the final, he said, “I don’t think the tough semifinal against Lakshya Sen had a bearing on the final. In big events, these are common. Even in the final, I had my moments. But I committed a few errors. It all boils down to how well you play in that one hour on the given day irrespective of all the training preceding the match day.”

He also lauded Lakshya saying that the youngster had improved a lot. “The last time I played him was around four years ago. I have been following his game. He has improved a lot. I expected this kind of game from him. I wanted to win at any cost and I gave my best against him,” he revealed.

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