I thought missing Olympics is not the end of the world says Srikanth after silver at worlds
Hyderabad Dec 21 PTI When he missed the Tokyo Games due to a mix of injuries and cancellation of qualifiers owing to the COVID-19 pandemic shuttler Kidambi Srikanth said to himself that Olympics is not the end of the world He was confident that his time would come and he worked towards it Now he is glad that his toil has paid off evidence of which is a historic world championships silver medal in the mens singles competition Olympics I was also disappointed If you look at it I was still the highest ranked player from India But some tournaments were supposed to happen for Olympics qualification Nearly seven to nine tournaments got cancelled Srikanth said on Tuesday First part of the qualification I could not play because of my injury Second part I was fully fit But tournaments did not happen 2021 they said resumption I played Swiss Open semifinal I had said I was feeling confident I can make it to the Olympics But again every tournament got cancelled Those things are something I dont have any control over So I dont want to talk about it I felt that day that Olympics is not the end of the world I thought that I will have my own chances I worked towards it I am just happy that everything paid off Seeking to become a better player by working on his shortcomings Srikanth said he will focus on maintaining his form and fitness heading into a hectic new year The 28-year-old former world number one from Guntur Andhra Pradesh on Sunday became the first Indian male shuttler to claim a silver medal at the prestigious tournament On his return to the country Srikanth said Now my only focus is on maintaining this and to improve further Because All England and then Commonwealth Games Asian Games are there next year Its a very big year Next eight to 10 months are very important for me So I am looking at talking to Gopi anna coach Pullela Gopichad I will try and work on what went wrong in the last few months Even though I played finals there will definitely be some negatives I have to work on to become a better player In the summit clash in Spain Srikanth currently ranked 14th in the world blew leads of 9-3 and 18-16 in the two games against Loh Kean Yew of Singapore to see the coveted title slip out of his grasp The multiple-time Super Series winner seemed pretty relaxed as he took question from the scribes here A world championship medal doesnt come easy so he has reasons to be happy A very great feeling A very special tournament for anyone World Championship has its own special significance To play final of such a major event I am very happy Next year is again a very important year I feel There is no time to celebrate this win Because India Open is starting from January 10 In March All England is there Then Commonwealth Games Then world championship Asian Games So many big events lined up I am just happy that I could peak at the correct time From September when I started playing tournaments I slowly started improving Match by match I could see the difference He had a stellar run in 2017 securing four super series titles in five finals It was a rare feat achieved only by the likes of Lee Chong Wei Lin Dan and Chen Long in a calender year However the year ended with Srikanth suffering a knee injury during the French Open in November and he aggravated it at the national championships At the moment I feel the injury phase is over I am just very happy with my physical state I am feeling confident about the way I am moving on court At the moment it will be about improvement Asked what was the best part of his campaign in Spain he replied Overall everything I think I just loved the way I played My physical condition What I loved the most was I was able to be aggressive throughout the tournament That is something that gave me immense confidence Talking about his semifinal match against younger compatriot Lakshya Sen Srikanth said It has been four five years since I played a match with Lakshya I have been watching his progress He has been playing exceptionally well So it was new for me Going into the match I really wanted to play my best and try and win at any cost I gave everything I have got That was one of the reasons for getting so tired in the match It was a long match We both were kind of aggressive throughout Srikanth said he had his chances in the 2017 edition of the world championships but this time around he was not expecting much In 2017 I thought I had my chances I thought I will definitely come back with a medal It didnt happen In this tournament I was on the opposite side I was feeling I didnt have any expectations on myself It was only about playing my best I know that if I can play really well I can beat anyone PTI SJR AH SSC SSC
Hyderabad Dec 21 PTI When he missed the Tokyo Games due to a mix of injuries and cancellation of qualifiers owing to the COVID-19 pandemic shuttler Kidambi Srikanth said to himself that Olympics is not the end of the world He was confident that his time would come and he worked towards it Now he is glad that his toil has paid off evidence of which is a historic world championships silver medal in the mens singles competition Olympics I was also disappointed If you look at it I was still the highest ranked player from India But some tournaments were supposed to happen for Olympics qualification Nearly seven to nine tournaments got cancelled Srikanth said on Tuesday First part of the qualification I could not play because of my injury Second part I was fully fit But tournaments did not happen 2021 they said resumption I played Swiss Open semifinal I had said I was feeling confident I can make it to the Olympics But again every tournament got cancelled Those things are something I dont have any control over So I dont want to talk about it I felt that day that Olympics is not the end of the world I thought that I will have my own chances I worked towards it I am just happy that everything paid off Seeking to become a better player by working on his shortcomings Srikanth said he will focus on maintaining his form and fitness heading into a hectic new year The 28-year-old former world number one from Guntur Andhra Pradesh on Sunday became the first Indian male shuttler to claim a silver medal at the prestigious tournament On his return to the country Srikanth said Now my only focus is on maintaining this and to improve further Because All England and then Commonwealth Games Asian Games are there next year Its a very big year Next eight to 10 months are very important for me So I am looking at talking to Gopi anna coach Pullela Gopichad I will try and work on what went wrong in the last few months Even though I played finals there will definitely be some negatives I have to work on to become a better player In the summit clash in Spain Srikanth currently ranked 14th in the world blew leads of 9-3 and 18-16 in the two games against Loh Kean Yew of Singapore to see the coveted title slip out of his grasp The multiple-time Super Series winner seemed pretty relaxed as he took question from the scribes here A world championship medal doesnt come easy so he has reasons to be happy A very great feeling A very special tournament for anyone World Championship has its own special significance To play final of such a major event I am very happy Next year is again a very important year I feel There is no time to celebrate this win Because India Open is starting from January 10 In March All England is there Then Commonwealth Games Then world championship Asian Games So many big events lined up I am just happy that I could peak at the correct time From September when I started playing tournaments I slowly started improving Match by match I could see the difference He had a stellar run in 2017 securing four super series titles in five finals It was a rare feat achieved only by the likes of Lee Chong Wei Lin Dan and Chen Long in a calender year However the year ended with Srikanth suffering a knee injury during the French Open in November and he aggravated it at the national championships At the moment I feel the injury phase is over I am just very happy with my physical state I am feeling confident about the way I am moving on court At the moment it will be about improvement Asked what was the best part of his campaign in Spain he replied Overall everything I think I just loved the way I played My physical condition What I loved the most was I was able to be aggressive throughout the tournament That is something that gave me immense confidence Talking about his semifinal match against younger compatriot Lakshya Sen Srikanth said It has been four five years since I played a match with Lakshya I have been watching his progress He has been playing exceptionally well So it was new for me Going into the match I really wanted to play my best and try and win at any cost I gave everything I have got That was one of the reasons for getting so tired in the match It was a long match We both were kind of aggressive throughout Srikanth said he had his chances in the 2017 edition of the world championships but this time around he was not expecting much In 2017 I thought I had my chances I thought I will definitely come back with a medal It didnt happen In this tournament I was on the opposite side I was feeling I didnt have any expectations on myself It was only about playing my best I know that if I can play really well I can beat anyone PTI SJR AH SSC SSC
