New Delhi: Indian shuttlers have a great chance of winning a medal at next month’s World Championships provided they play consistently well throughout the tournament according to Kidambi Srikanth, who won back-to-back titles at Indonesia and Australia.
Three Indians – Srikanth, B Sai Praneeth and Ajay Jayaram have qualified in men’s singles category for the event to be played at Glasgow, August 21-27.
“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 told reporters after he and national coach Pullela Gopichand were felicitated by sports minister Vijay Goel. “We have to play consistently well, because it is such a big tournament and everyone prepares really hard,” he added.
Srikanth emphasised that the top 30-35 players in men’s singles were more or less on the same platform. “See the better player on the day wins, rankings don’t matter. That is why, I am harping on consistency,” he said.
“If you actually see HS Prannoy was ranked 29th before Indonesia Open and see how he beat Chen Long and Lee Chong Wei (both in the top 10) in successive matches. So everyone in the top 35 are playing well. The game now is definitely physical for sure. I think the level of the game is growing in the other players as well,” he added.
Srikanth, who reached three successive Super Series finals and won two of them, said that he is peaking at the right time for the World Championships. “It has been fantastic the last one month. I’m peaking at the right time. I want to hold on to this form by training really hard,” informed Srikanth.
Press Trust of India
