Kidambi Srikanth focuses on match fitness ahead of Dubai World Super Series finals

Srikanth has been exceptional this year as he became the first Indian badminton player, male or female, to grab four Superseries titles in a single calendar year. Later, a leg injury during the National Badminton Championships forced him to stay out of the China Open and he decided to skip Hong Kong Open as well, so he could recover from the injury. Now, he is ready to for the upcoming challenge in Dubai where he will face the top shuttlers of the world.

“So, it is important to be focused, alert from the first round, and seize the chances that come your way for five days,” Kidambi said as quoted by The Hindu.

In a year, there are almost 17 major badminton tournaments which see all the top-seeded players competing against each other. In the recent past, top Indian players representing the nation played very well but back-to-back tournaments have also caused fatigue as they don't get enough time to recover. This year, Srikanth has played 45 matches in which he lost only 8 which helped him reach the World No. 2 position. Srikanth mentioned the importance of the match fitness and cleared that results are more important than rankings.

“That feeling of being one of the top eight out to prove a point will make that slight difference in Dubai compared to other Super Series,” the 24-year-old said. 

“The biggest challenge is to be able to be fit for every match. I don’t think too much about the World No. 1 ranking. I always believe I repeat, that it is important to play consistently and once the results are in place, these rankings are taken care of,” Srikanth, currently ranked No. 4, said.