It’s tough being a badminton player in India these days. The expectations have increased, and if you fail, a lot of questions are raised about form and fitness. The former World No 1 Kidambi Srikanth is going through the same phase in his career, where just about every move of his is under scrutiny. But his new coach P Kashyap, doesn’t see that as a problem. It’s more about what the team can achieve, taking one tournament at a time.
Even though the entire 2023 was sort of a struggle, where Kidambi Srikanth couldn’t progress beyond the quarters of any event, Kashyap maintains that the former is just the most talented player ever, the country has seen. And the results will start to come after he comes to a certain level of fitness, which he displayed at the recent Malaysian Open, where he beat Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie.
“Yeah, I consider him one of the most talented and capable singles players in like, in the last five to 10 years. I would say, maybe a few niggles have caused him to slide a bit. Maybe some of the things he tried with other previous coaches, didn’t work for him, but we need to move on now,” Kashyap told Insidesport in an exclusive interaction.
Continuing his point, Kashyap said, “It’s not the effort which is lacking, all these guys have put in all they have, but sometimes, some ideas don’t work. And probably that is the case.”
“We have identified a few areas of work, and with a few more weeks of training, hopefully those will be taken care of. He will need time to adjust to my ideas.”
Time Running Out for Kidambi Srikanth?
Kashyap doesn’t beat around the bush and admits that they don’t have a lot of time at their hand, considering it’s an Olympic year, but as they say, there are no shortcuts.
“I think in general, his fitness levels should be up. And considering the game he wants to play, all the more reason to improve, and in the limited time we have.”
As far as the technical aspect is concerned, it’s a non-issue with Kidambi Srikanth, but just a case of him re-learning, all the correct things he did earlier.
“It’s not like he doesn’t know these small things, but as seniors, we sometimes tend to forget. We just have to relearn a lot of things, which I realized at the end of my career, and, you know, it just sucks to be there. What do you tell a guy who has won just about everything, he’s a World Championships silver medalist and was there in the Thomas Cup-winning team too. So, small steps for us,” Kashyap added.
While it may be challenging for Kidambi Srikanth to adapt to Kashyap’s style, the same goes for the latter as well, and he wishes, they could have come together a little earlier.
“I’ve expressed myself clearly as to what I want, and he’s thoroughly working towards it too, but I wish we could have come together earlier. Nevertheless, he’s doing well, he beat Christie just last week.”
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Pressure, What Pressure?
If not for any untimely injury now, Kidambi Srikanth would play all the tournaments, as the Paris 2024 qualification is at stake, and with his ranking in the mid-twenties, a superior effort will have to come now. “We need to match up with the youngsters, who could probably be faster and fitter, so I need to get his fitness right up there, and also understand the parts of his game that are really strong.
“As for pressure, there’s none on him. He is a cool customer and trains, and keeps to himself. He doesn’t react much. So he’ll be able yo deal with the issues soon,” Kashyap concluded.
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