Srikanth now shifts focus to World Championships in Aug
His body language said it all. As he moved, he was beaming with a confidence on Saturday, something that was missing some six months back when he fought to regain his form after an injury setback.
Ace shuttler Kidambi Srikanth has not only grown in stature in a matter of two months, but his perspective too has changed, after reaching the finals of three Superseries events in a row, winning two.
“Things are moving in the right direction. My focus right now is to prepare for the world meet (in Glasgow in August). There is enough time to work harder to achieve my goal,” he said during a media interaction on Saturday after calling on sports minister Vijay Goel at his residence here along with coach Pullela Gopichand.
Srikanth won back-to-back titles in the Indonesia Open and Australian Open this month, after finishing runner-up in the Singapore Open in May, in a high for Indian men’s badminton with Sai Praneeth having won the first event.On Saturday, the 24-year-old Srikanth looked elegant off the court too.
Since returning after winning the Australian Open in Sydney last week, Srikanth has been hopping from one place to another attending felicitation functions. But he didn’t seem to be complaining.
Srikanth and Gopichand were felicitated by Goel for their stupendous achievements. Gopi was glad sports has become the talking point, saying it will contribute to developing a sports culture in the country.
“We generally criticise the government for failing to do certain things but in sports, the state machinery is pro-active. It’s a privilege to be part of the system that is growing,” he said.
Srikanth praised the system and the government. “Without the support of the government, it wouldn’t have been possible to compete across the globe.”.
The shuttler said on court he has learnt to push hard in crunch situations, which should help him in tough matches at the August 21-27 Worlds . “That little bit extra effort makes a huge difference; it helps to make a comeback in the competition and move ahead,” he added.