Fresh from winning Odisha Open, shuttler Kiran George keen to shine on big stage
KOCHI: Unseeded Kiran George knew that after a disappointing start to the year, it was not his game that needed to be worked on going into the Odisha Open.
"I got knocked out in the first round of the India Open and the Syed Modi Championship. It was more the mental side of my game that needed work. I discussed all this with my coaches and tried to work on building confidence and the mental side of the game. That's why I was able to go all the way here," said Kiran as he clinched the Odisha Open men's singles title on Sunday after beating Priyanshu Rajawat in a contest that lasted close to an hour.
The Kerala native who trains at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy feels this provides a huge morale boost for the year ahead.
The youngster is looking forward to the Asia Team Championship which is set to be held in Malaysia from February 15.
Kiran has been included in the Indian contingent for the Championship and the 21-year-old feels winning the Odisha Open has helped him back himself as he looks to have a big year in his fledgling career.
"Indian badminton is going through a really good phase. A lot of youngsters are starting to show a lot of potential. Personally, my first target is to improve my world ranking and try to do well in all the tournaments that I participate in," said Kiran whose current world ranking in the world is 80 in men's singles.
When asked about the learnings from the India Open and Syed Modi International Badminton Championship disappointments, the 2021 Polish International title winner was honest in his assessment.
"In the big moments and during those crucial points, I wasn't converting my advantages and putting pressure on myself and the game got away from me. I had a good chance in both tournaments to do well but I threw it away. I worked really hard on that aspect and that made a huge difference," he said.
Kiran admitted that he had a shaky start to the Odisha open as well but started gaining in confidence and he started believing that he can go all the way after beating third seed Subhankar Dey in the quarterfinal.
The shuttler has firmly turned his attention to the European leg of the World Tour Calendar which starts in March and wants to make the most of it.
"I really want to play the big tournaments and get entry into tournaments like the World Championships and All-England Open. For that, the first step is to improve my rankings and do well in the competitions I compete in," he said.
Kiran who is the son of former Commonwealth Games silver medallist and Arjuna awardee George Thomas feels he has what it takes to shine on the global stage.
"I have all the tools and the game to do well at the big stage. I just need to be confident, focused, and disciplined while grinding away," he concluded.