Kidambi Srikanth says that the Indonesian Open singles title he won on Sunday is a gift to his father - K.V.S. Krishna - on the Father’s Day.
“Well, of the three Super Series titles I won (2014 China Open, 2015 India Super Series and now Indonesian Open), this one is special for the simple reason as it had come on Father’s Day and I dedicate this to my father who has been a great source of inspiration to me right through,” Srikanth said in a chat with Sportstar from Jakarta on Sunday.
Indonesia Open: Srikanth bags title
“Otherwise, frankly, for any player every Super Series win has its own significance. So, I don’t want to compare this with the two previous titles. But, yes, coming after a long gap, I do feel this is very significant as I set my eyes on the World Championship this August in Scotland,” the elated World No. 22 said.
“I must say a lot of credit for my recent performances should go to my Indonesian coach Mulyo Handoyo (singles coach at Gopi Academy and one who trained the great Taufik Hidayat to Olympic gold). After he joined us, I have been really doing well of late especially given the fact that I was coming back after an injury,” 24-year-old explained.
Read: Srikanth congratulated by Prime Minister
“Mulyo’s style of coaching is different from Gopi anna ’s coaching (chief national coach Pullela Gopi Chand). He makes us do things in a very different way. I must say that I am really more confident, mentally tougher and feeling much better out there in the middle,” Srikanth said.
“The urge to excel at the highest level will be always there. Sometimes things don’t fall in your place. Yes, the specific objective will be always to keep improving and more importantly to be consistent,” said Srikanth. “The conditions were very tricky in the Indonesia Open. Anything could happen. I saw matches turn around completely after the 11-point breaks. So, I was confident, though Sakai (Kazumasa) was very aggressive in the first half of the second game. He was really pushing me,” Srikanth recalled.
“But, once I decided to attack, work up a good pace which I haven’t done a bit before that phase in the final, I knew that I would be back in the match,” Srikanth said. “It is always a great feeling to see the Indian shuttlers figure in the knock-out stages of the Super Series. Clearly a reminder that the men players are a force to reckon with,” Srikanth said to a query.
“Now, I will be very keen to see that there is greater consistency in winning big titles,” he signed off.
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