BENGALURU: Kidambi Srikanth’s Olympic qualification fate would have been decided by now had Covid-19 not sent the world sporting calendar into disarray. Like other sportspersons, shuttlers too are maintaining their fitness at home.
The former World No 1 is using most of his time to bond with family, something that he hasn’t been able to do for nearly a decade.
In a freewheeling chat, the Red Bull athlete talked about his apprehension over travel for future tournaments, and how athletes will take need more time to attain peak fitness.
You must be spending time with your family…
It’s after a long time that I have been able to spend quality time with them. They moved to Hyderabad in 2017. Eight years before that, I hardly got any time to be with them. Even after they moved, I could not spend much time with them. I’m travelling for tournaments most of the time, or at my academy for training. Now I can say that I am spending quality time with them.
How is a month away from sport going to affect shuttlers?
It will definitely take some time for all of us to get back on court, start practising and be at our 100 per cent. We are doing off-court training. But it’s definitely going to take time for our physical fitness to reach the highest level.
When normalcy returns, will there be an element of fear during travel for tournaments?
Yes. I have been going through a lot of news. I have also read that a vaccine might take another 12, 18 months. Unless you actually have one, you cannot say that the virus is fully gone. After all this is over and when we start travelling, we will definitely be a little scared. We will have to follow the safety precautions. I do not think it will be like it was before any time soon.
Olympic qualification must be on the back of your mind…
I have been thinking about it. The qualification period was supposed to end on April 30. If the Olympics has been postponed by a year, the qualification period should technically start by May 1 and end by next April 30. A new cycle. But I’m not really sure as to how qualifying tournaments will be decided, because the current situation is different in each country. You cannot expect countries to start sending players to tournaments. It is definitely going to be very tough for IOC and BWF to arrive at a decision.
This break might have helped your knee get better…
It did by December-January. This one month could have been really helpful. I could have gone to the academy and trained. But I am at home and not doing much. The moment I start, I will have to be careful again. When I was injured before, I used to take full break and then push myself to get back. And I would injure myself again and again. Being careful will be important.
How important is it to pick and choose tournaments?
I am thinking about it for the last six months or so. I am thinking about understanding my body, training myself and planning accordingly for tournaments. I am also planning gaps in between. It will definitely give me some more time to train and then play. It is not about quantity, but more about quality. It is about how well I play in one tournament rather than playing at my 50 per cent in five or six competitions.
You had a good 2017. Did singles coach Mulyo Handoyo’s resignation impact you after that run?
I did extremely well under him for a year or so. But then he had to leave due to family problems in December 2017. I continued the momentum till Commonwealth Games in 2018 and a few more months after that. For sure, I was not up to the mark in the last two years. He made a difference. Everyone I’ve worked with has a different style, and his really helped me.