JOIN USKashyap focussed on World tourney
Thanks to his bronze-medal winning show at the Commonwealth Games and a decent run at the Olympic Games, Parupalli Kashyap has made a strong presence in the consciousness of the badminton fans in India.
The 26-year-old reached the quarterfinals in London before bowing out to top seed Lee Chong Wei and subsequently climbed his way to World No 6 before his recent form set him back a bit. Kashyap lost five places to settle at the eleventh spot following a series of losses, worst of which were his defeats in the first rounds of the India Open, Indonesia Open and the Singapore Open Super Series.
“In the few of tournaments I’ve played since, I reached the quarterfinals at the All-England Championships. The only one tournament I really didn’t play well in was the Indonesia Open. I was totally outplayed in that match. But otherwise in the other two-three matches, I lost coming close to match point,” said Kashyap, who was here on Tuesday as part of the Indian Badminton League-side Banga Beats’ promotional event.
“In the other three tournaments, I had a chance to probably go a lot further... especially at the Singapore Open. I was at match point in the second game but couldn’t get through. I thought if I could’ve pulled it through I could’ve won the tournament because I’ve beaten Tommy (Sugiarto), Boonsak (Ponsana) and they both played the final.”
Kashyap, however, was far from bogged down by the slump and insisted that he will be able to rise to the occasion at the World Championships, in Guangzhou, China, from August 5 to 11.
“I’m working on a few new things for the World Championships. Since I was playing the All-England Championships, the India Open, the Sudirman Cup, the Indonesia Open and the Singapore Open, I didn’t get time to train, and this time I’ve had lot of time to train. So I’m sure I can give a good performance,” remarked the former National champion.
After the World Championships most of the players will assemble in India for the IBL which will be held from August 14 to 31. Kashyap, however, was solely focussed on the Worlds for now.
“The conditions are different in China and shuttles are different. It’s slower, a lot of long rallies and longer games could ensue. So I have put in extra hours in training. I have worked on a couple things in defence with my coach (Pullela) Gopichand besides variations in my game. I hope everything comes out well at the Worlds,” he noted when asked about his preparations for the elite championship.
Explaining how the crowds play a factor during a game in South-East Asian countries, Kashyap said: “Chinese crowds are not like those in Indonesia or Malaysia. They (Indonesia and Malaysia) really affect your game. They get really close to you. But Chinese crowds are bit more sober than them. They are in between European and Asian fans (laughs).”
As an Icon player Kashyap was bagged by Banga Beats for $75,000, and even though he had initially said that he was not too happy to be signed up by a team outside of Hyderabad, he seemed to have changed his opinion.
“I am very happy playing for Bangalore and I am very happy with the team that I am going to be playing with. I will give it my hundred per cent,” said Kashyap.
Kashyap will team up with Hong Kong’s Hu Yun in the IBL but before that he is likely to run into the World No 4 in the World Championships.
“I don’t plan to have any chat with him (before the World Championships) because I might play him. He’s a good friend of mine. We’ll have a conversation during the tournament. He’s very experienced but I would like to get a win against him. My initial ties are tricky and tough as I play two Europeans back to back. But I would like to take it one game at a time,” Kashyap said.