We are physically much stronger than any of the other players, says Kidambi Srikanth

Srikanth maintained his winning momentum this year as after winning the Indonesia, Australia and Denmark Opens, he beat his compatriot HS Prannoy in the semi-finals of the French Open Super Series to become the first Indian to reach five finals in a season.

The world No 4 gave credit to new Indonesian coach Mulyo Handoyo for the changed mindset. 

"It is the kind of mindset we have these days, we are not really scared of longer matches and that gives us the edge over any players," Srikanth said when asked about the contribution of Mulyo as quoted by PTI.

"If you play against few Chinese players, you have to be ready to play longer matches. Now we are ready to play that. I think we are physically much stronger than any of the players."

Srikanth beat HS Prannoy 14-21, 21-19, 21-18 in a thriller to book his berth in the finals of the French Open. Srikanth praised Prannoy for his performance in the tournament. 

"He really played well. The second and third game could have gone either way, throughout the tournament he was fantastic.

"It is always tricky when you play against a fellow player whom you play 365 days. It is always tough. Today both of us played well. There was 18-18 in both the games and then I got three crucial games and that made the change. 

"He is also an aggressive player, when he gets going, he really hits it hard. There were times in the match when I could not react to his smashes. It is tough when he gets going," Srikanth said.

Srikanth will face Kenta Nishimoto of Japan in the final where the former will fight for his fourth title of the year. Ahead of the clash, the Indian revealed his physical state after continuous participation in the Super Series.

"I think I am feeling tired now, just one more left. I just hope I can recover myself for tomorrow's match. I am really thinking of doing well. I am not worried about the results, it is just to play my best, that's it," the 24-year-old stated.