We've a good chance of winning medal at World Championship, says Kidambi Srikanth

We've a good chance of winning medal at World Championship, says Kidambi Srikanth

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On the back of winning two successive Superseries titles himself, Kidambi Srikanth believes that the Indian contingent have a chance of winning a medal at the World Championship next month. The World No.8 also appreciated the contributions of Indonesian coach Mulyo Handoyo in his recent success.

Kidambi Srikanth can seemingly do no wrong at the moment, having won two successive Superseries titles in as many weeks. But more importantly, it isn’t just Srikanth who has been doing well for the country. Indian badminton on the whole is in the midst of a golden era with 14 men and 7 women currently in the top 100 of the BWF singles rankings.

With the badminton World Championships coming up in Glasgow from August 21-27 and three Indians- Srikanth, B Sai Praneeth and Ajay Jayaram having qualified in men's singles category, the stage is once again set for India to continue their meteoric rise in the sport. And Srikanth believes that India have a chance of clinching a medal at the prestigious event. 

"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," he said, reported PTI.

What makes the World Championship so prestigious is that the tournament offers most ranking points along with the Olympic Games, but this also, obviously adds to the difficulty of the event and Srikanth is well aware of this fact. "We have to play consistently well, because it is such a big tournament and everyone prepares really hard," he added.

Speaking of the current level of Indian badminton, the Guntur local observed, "I think everyone in top 30-35 are playing well. If you actually see HS Prannoy was 29 before Indonesia Open and see how he beat Chen Long and Lee Chong Wei in successive matches. So everyone in the top 35 are playing well."

Badminton has undergone a drastic change ever since the current rally point scoring system was adapted in 2006 and Srikanth commented on how the game has evolved ever since, saying, "The game now is definitely physical for sure. You have to be really alert on the court, move well, for an hour, so it is more physical than skills. But I think the level of the game is growing in the other players as well."

Srikanth also reflected on his magical run of form which took him to the finals of three successive Superseries, out of which he won two back-to-back titles in Indonesia and Australia. "It has been fantastic the last one month. Right from Singapore Open, it has been great. I have received more than what I have asked for, so I am very happy. I don't know how to express," said Srikanth, who also won the 2014 China Super Series Premier and 2015 India Open.

Moreover, he also believes that his ongoing form will hold him in good stead for the World Championship. "I'm peaking at the right time. I am really happy how I played last one month. I really want to train hard for the next few weeks ahead of the tournament and play consistently at the World championship," he said.

What makes Srikanth’s current form even more commendable is the fact that he has achieved all this on the back of coming from a lengthy injury layoff suffered after the Olympics last year. During his time on the sidelines, Srikanth was guided by national head coach Pullela Gopichand.

Moreover, Indonesian coach Mulyo Handoyo was roped in by the Badminton Association of India to ease the workload on Gopichand and lend his expertise to the Indian players and Srikanth expressed his gratitude to the Indonesian's contributions saying, "The injury part changed me. My approach towards training and the way I trained with Gopi sir and our new Indonesian coach Mulyo, it really worked for me. "The injury part changed me. My approach towards training and the way I trained with Gopi sir and our new Indonesian coach Mulyo, it really worked for me," he acknowledged. 

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