HYDERABAD: Kidambi Srikanth had a roller-coaster 2015, when he rose to World No 3 before suffering a slip. Ranked ninth now, he regained confidence and form to beat Lee Chong Wei in the PBL and then won the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold title in Lucknow.
“It’s always good to win a tournament at the start of a year. Winning against Lee Chong Wei was a big moment,” said Srikanth, who will spearhead India’s challenge in the Asian team badminton championship starting on Monday. India’s top singles player and coach Pullela Gopichand both feel the team is well balanced.
The Guntur-born is excited to play in front of home fans. “It’s a big event. I’m playing for the first time in Hyderabad. It’s a different experience and I’m hoping to get support.”
In Group A with China and Singapore, the 23-year-old is optimistic of India’s chances. “We are fast emerging as a force to reckon with. We’ve solid singles players like Prannoy, Ajay, Sameer, Sai Praneeth and others. Many are in the top 20-25 and have good performances of late. The most important thing is we have doubles players (Akshay Dewalkar and Pranav Chopra, along with Manu Attri and SumeethReddy), who can play a big part in the team’s campaign. Of course, we will miss Kashyap.”
Gopichand expects at least a semifinal place. “Men’s singles looks more balanced because all three are doing well. It’s good to have Akshay/Pranav and Manu/Sumeeth, who have developed as strong pairs.”
Srikanth added although Lin Dan or Chen Long would not be there, China are always a strong side. “They come hard at you. It’ll be interesting to play them in front of our home crowd. It’s always nice to beat them.”
Coming to his game, Srikanth agreed that it is a challenge to stay at the top. “Being ranked third was an honour, but I need to play solid badminton to come back at the top.”
Srikanth pointed out he was more confident. “I’m able to read the game well. It has become very fast, so physical fitness is important and luckily, I’m injury-free. I’ve improved strokes and moving well.” India begin on Wednesday when they meet Singapore in the men’s and women’s sections.
Pools
Men: Group A: China, India, Singapore; Group B: Japan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Nepal; Group C: Indonesia, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Maldives; Group D: Korea, Hong Kong, Philippines.
Women: Group A: China, Malaysia, Hong Kong; Group B: Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Sri Lanka; Group C: Korea, Indonesia, Maldives; Group D: Japan, India, Singapore.
Monday fixtures
Men: Korea vs Philippines, China vs Singapore; Indonesia vs Maldives, Chinese Taipei vs Thailand. Women: Thailand vs Sri Lanka; China vs Hong Kong.