NEW DELHI: Kidambi Srikanth wore a resigned look during the post-match interaction after his opening-round defeat in the ongoing India Open. Wins have been a premium for the Indian shuttler, a former World No 1, in recent times. On Wednesday, it was not due to lack of trying as Srikanth did well to offer some resistance to Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong. But it was the same old story as Srikanth eventually lost 24-22, 21-13.
Since the start of 2023, the Guntur shuttler has now lost 11 times in the very first round. That's a worrying trend as he is on a slippery slope in regards to Olympic qualification. But Srikanth, an experienced campaigner who was part of the Rio Olympics, is not looking to gravitate towards negativity.
"For me, it's more about consistently winning. It's not just about qualifying. If I'm there at the Olympics, I want to go in as a medal contender. I don't want to go in for the sake of playing. If I can win a couple of tournaments in the next few months, that could take me to the Olympics. That will really put me there," he noted after his opening-round loss.
The 30-year-old conceded that he has missed out during crucial moments in recent times and he felt that he has the ability to flip the script in his favour if he manages to get a win or two in the coming days. "I think I'm doing okay. Here, last week... there were good matches and I had my chances in every match.
Probably, if I had taken the first set, things could have been different. Last week (Malaysia Open), if I had taken the second set, things would have been different. For me, it's about clicking (during those crucial moments). Also because I have lost quite a few matches, it's just not happening. Once it happens, I'll be okay to win tournaments."
He's hopeful that Parupalli Kashyap's arrival (as coach) will bring about a timely change. "He's (Kashyap) somebody who's played at this level and won tournaments. He has been in the top-10 as well. Both of us are very clear about our objective. We want to win tournaments, it's not just about participation. He has specific things in mind and we're working towards it. If it works, I'll probably start winning again."
He has endured similar times in the past, the most notable one being the phase before the Tokyo Olympics (he had missed out on qualification). The battle-hardened shuttler is not too perturbed by his current ordeal. "I have been there at the Olympics and I missed out by a small margin last time. So I have seen it all. It doesn't really matter to me any more. If I win tournaments, I'll be there. If I don't, I won't be there. For me it's just about winning," he noted.
The Indian camp will be hoping that he can change the narrative to the earliest.
Results: Men's singles: Lee Cheuk Yiu (HKG) bt Kidambi Srikanth 24-22, 21-13; Men's doubles: Kenya Mitsuhashi/Hiroki Okamura (JPN) bt Krishna Prasad Garaga/Sai Pratheek K 21-14, 21-3, F.C. Lee/F.J. Lee lost to Chirag Shetty/Satwik Rankireddy 21-15, 19-21, 21-16.
Women's doubles: Kim So Yeong/Kong Hee Yong (KOR) bt Ashwini Bhat/Shikha Gautam 21-12, 21-3; Rawinda Prajongjai/Jongkolphan Kitiharkul (THA) bt Tanisha Crasto/Ashwini Ponnappa 21-5, 18-21, 21-11.