I can do well at World Championships, believes Kidambi Srikanth

Indian ace shuttler Srikanth has had a below-par season thus far on the international circuit. The Arjuna Award recipient ended the 2018 season without winning any major titles and admits that the losses in the quarter-final stages of the tournaments hurt more than losing in the opening rounds. 

Srikanth, who had clinched four titles in 2017, lost nine quarterfinals and two semifinals. The 26-year-old only reached the final in last year’s Gold Coast CWG where he had to settle for a silver medal.

“I think the series of quarterfinals are more irritating for me than losing in the first round. I think I have been consistent against a few players and then not able to get that win against a few others at quarterfinals and semifinals, that is what I’m working on – to last the whole week. Probably, if I can do well in next 3-4 months before the World Championship. If I can get better physically and tougher mentally, I think I can do well at World Championship.

“I’m working on my fitness, I had too many injuries in late 2017 and 2018 and so if I can keep working on my fitness then I will have a great chance to win titles. That is what worked for me in 2017, because I could sustain an hour and half hour. But 2018 and early 2019, I had some injuries and withdrew from tournaments. I am okay now. I had an ankle injury after playing a series of events at Malaysia, Indonesia and PBL. I’m feeling good now and I have been able to train for three weeks and I feel confident,” Srikanth said ahead of the start of this year’s India Open.

Srikanth, who was earlier the top-ranked BWF player in the world, added that he just wants to focus on improving the little details in his game and maintain a positive momentum ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

“I couldn’t produce the results that I wanted to but still I’m happy with my improvement. So I am in that process now.

“I’m not desperate, I just want to improve on different things, to be able to pull out crucial points in tough matches and be more consistent. All I am working on now is to do well at the Olympics. If I can hold on to the momentum and keep improving till the Olympics, I can do well there,” Srikanth added.