Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy need to be able to cope up with pressure, believes Vimal Kumar

Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy need to be able to cope up with pressure, believes Vimal Kumar

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Former badminton coach Vimal Kumar has asserted that Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy need to be able to cope up with the pressure and change their game according to the situation. Kumar added that he was disappointed to see the top two Indian shuttlers crash out early at the World Championship.

Srikanth lost in straight games to Malaysian Daren Liew, while Prannoy went down to Igor Coelho of Brazil to crash out of the World Championship at the pre-quarterfinal stage. Kumar was disappointed with both players as they could not capitalize on veteran Lee Chong Wei’s absence from the championship.

Kumar stated that Srikanth and Prannoy need to find consistency and have an alternative plan when under pressure. He felt that the Indian shuttlers were not being able to cope up with the pressure and added that they need to make a few adjustments.

“I am really disappointed with Srikanth and Prannoy as both of them could not capitalize on Lee Chong Wei’s absence. They need to be consistent and play differently when things are not going well. They need to have an alternative plan as they are not being able to cope up. They have to make a few adjustments,” Kumar told PTI.

The 55-year-old, who coached Saina Nehwal to the World No. 1 spot during his three-year stint with her, was not impressed with the standards displayed in the men’s singles category throughout the recently concluded World Championship. However, he was exceptionally impressed with the 23-year-old Kento Momota and said that the Japanese shuttler is taking badminton to another level.

“Overall if you look at the standard in the men’s singles category throughout the tournament, there was no one special apart from Momota. After Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan, this man is taking badminton to another level. He was simply toying with everybody as he can play both attacking and defensive,” Kumar added.

While the men’s singles players failed to impress, PV Sindhu clinched her second silver at the World Championship after losing another major final to Olympic champion Carolina Marin. Kumar said Sindhu has to recover from the loss as quickly as possible and focus on the Asian Games. He felt that Sindhu was young and could win the World Championship in the coming years.

“It was disappointing and I know it hurts to lose at that level. She should not focus much on it as the Asian Games is right around the corner. She has to recover as quickly as possible. I feel she is young and can definitely win the World Championship in the coming years,” he said.

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