Kidambi Srikanth says winning Super Series final more important than being World No 1
December 10, 2017
Having missed the China Open and Hong Kong Open due to a thigh muscle strain, ace badminton player Kidambi Srikanth has set his sights on winning the Dubai Super Series final starting on December 13, which could help him close in on the top position in world rankings.
Srikanth rose to fourth in the BWF rankings released on Thursday, but for him winning the upcoming Super Series is top priority. “I am not thinking about (becoming) the world No 1. It is more important for me to win the Super Series final rather than becoming world No 1,” Srikanth told reporters on Saturday.
“I only want to think about the performance, not the ranking. If I can really do well, say if I win the tournament, I can definitely be world No 1.”
Srikanth said he has fully recovered from the leg injury suffered during last month’s national championships. “I was injured after the nationals, had to skip China and Hong Kong. I am feeling good; my body has recovered, I am looking forward to a great next week.
“I started practising about two weeks back. (Due to the injury) I did not play for one-and-a-half weeks. I slowly started my rehabilitation and then played,” he said.
Having won four Super Series in 2017, Srikanth said it is challenging to sustain such performances. “It is definitely tough; everyone is trying to get better every day. It is really important for us to improve every day, and I am really working hard on that. I want to be the best and that is what I am thinking. I want to win every match I play,” he said.
“The last 6-8 months have been fantastic, there is just one more (international) tournament left for me. I really want to do well.
“I feel I did great but there is still a lot to come. Next year is going to be big; we have the Commonwealth Games, Asian Championships… now the number of Super Series has also increased to 15,” he said.
From next year, the top 15 singles players and top 10 doubles pairs must play at least 12 events in a year in the rechristened ‘world tour’.
“I really want to keep myself fit for the big event. If I can be fit, be at my 100 percent… I really want to take that break (before big tournaments) and train hard.”
