Parupalli Kashyap has good memories of the 2010 Commonwealth Games here. He can vividly recall the pressure of playing at home and the euphoria he felt after winning the bronze medal in men’s singles.
Today, as India’s top men shuttler, he hopes the experience will help him in his quest for the gold at the Glasgow edition.
Back in 2010, Kashyap had to fight to make his way into the team. “Chetan (Anand) had already qualified and Arvind (Bhat), Anup (Sridhar) and I were competing for the spot.
But just before the CWG, I did well in couple of Super Series events and got the ranking and qualified,” Kashyap told Deccan Herald before boarding the flight for Glasgow.
“It was a very tough event. The whole stadium was cheering for us, it was very encouraging but there was also a lot of pressure, especially during the team event against England and some of the matches of individual events.
But it was good to have such an experience. I hope it will help me this time.”
With World No 1 Lee Chong Wei pulling out of the competition, this could well be the chance for the 27-year-old Hyderabadi. “I feel I can win the gold medal. Lee Chong Wei not there, has opened up the field.
Though the draw is not out, I know it will still be tough as we have got some very good players from other countries especially Malaysia and England. Malaysia has very good players in Wei Feng Chong and then there is England's Rajiv Ouseph, who is in good form.
“This time I have worked a lot on my strength as these tournaments are very tough physically.
Normally we play a tournament which lasts for a week. But a tournament like CWG goes beyond and to play your best till the ninth and 10th day, you have to be physically fit,” he added.
The World No 22 admitted the rise of PV Sindhu and K Srikanth has boosted the medal chances of India. Despite the absence of Saina Nehwal, Kashyap was confident of the team faring well.
“These are the best times for Indian badminton. Srikanth and Guru are playing very well. In singles, we might end up playing against each other. The fact this event comes once in four years just adds to the importance. In women’s doubles we have Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa.
“We are lucky that in women's singles we have Sindhu who is also ranked quite high though it will be her first time in CWG.
Saina is so experienced that we know with her we have 100 percent chances of winning medal in CWG. But Sindhu has been doing well and it is a very good opportunity for her to play those tough matches.”
Kashyap, however, felt playing three big tournaments like CWG, World Championships and Asian Games takes a toll on players.
“It is a tough ask for the players to do well in all three events. An event like CWG is very tiring, then in another 20 days you have the World Championships, which is an extremely tough event and then in three weeks time you have the Asian Games.
“So it is very difficult on us players because you are not improving, you are just playing.”