CHENNAI: While Kidambi Srikanth clinched the Indonesia Open and HS Prannoy went on a giant-killing spree at the same event, Parupalli Kashyap was kept busy with his recuperation from a shoulder-injury recurrence after the Premier Badminton League.
Times have not been easy on Kashyap. A knee injury put paid to his hopes of participating in the Rio Olympics. He was out for a long time because of which he missed quite a few events. He has slipped in the rankings, World No 69, because of the same.
“I’m not bothered about my ranking. I want to concentrate on regaining my full fitness. Once I start feeling confident on the court, I’m sure results will follow,” Kashyap told Express.
He has not had the best of runs in the recent past. He was forced to play two matches in the space of 12 hours at the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold event, which led to him going on Twitter to vent his frustration after his loss.
“I don’t regret my actions. Matches in such short proximity led to injuries, and I don’t want to aggravate my injury. As far as my performances are concerned, I’m a bit rusty at the moment.
“It does feel like I’m losing quite a few matches and bowing out of tournaments with regularity. It happens once you have been out of action for a while. Hopefully, I’ll regain my winning touch soon enough,” the 30-year-old added.
For an injured athlete, the road to recovery is hard enough. Matters get even more complicated when you see your fellow shuttlers enjoying success. But Kashyap harbours no such ill feeling. “I’m happy for both Srikanth and Prannoy. We have been working hard as a group for quite some time now. These triumphs show how men’s badminton in the country is heading in the right direction and the future is really bright,” the 2014 Commonwealth Games (CWG) gold medallist said.
His upcoming commitment is the Australian Open Superseries event at Sydney. However, the shuttler’s main aim for the year is to do well at the World Championships and eventually earn a place in the team for the 2018 CWG to be held in Sydney.
“The Worlds are important. Hopefully, I’ll regain fitness and manage to get some momentum into my game by that time. A gold is my aim for the CWG. Hopefully, I can make my country proud once again,” he signed off.
ayantan@newindianexpress.com