Kidambi Srikanth : I just want to see where my level is

The shuttler has backed himself to perform with confidence in upcoming tournaments.

Former World No.1 Kidambi Srikanth is ready to hit the Badminton court after a long hiatus and is preparing for the three-tournament Asian Leg of the HSBC BWF World Tour 2020, slated to be held in Thailand in January.

The Indian star spoke about the lockdown period and how it helped him to refresh his mind and body. He seems confident going into the three tournaments which include two Super 1000 events – YONEX Thailand Open and TOYOTA Thailand Open.

"I’m happy that I had the time to work on my injuries. I went through quite a phase and this time really helped me work on my fitness," Kidambi Srikanth said to BWF.

He was going through a bad patch in his career before a nationwide lockdown was announced by the Indian government due to the coronavirus pandemic. This left the athletes to isolate and train without being able to play the sport.

Kidambi Srikanth remarked, "The five-six months of lockdown helped me and now I feel really good about being back at training. I couldn’t play badminton, it was about working on the smaller muscles and doing rehabilitation exercises. The period between March and August helped rebuild me. I’m feeling very confident. I just want to play some tournaments now and see where my level is."

The 27-year-old also talked about his recent experience in the Denmark Open in October 2020 where he was knocked out by the world No. 2 Chou Tien Chen. He stated, "I was happy with how I played in Denmark, particularly the first couple of rounds. Though I went out, it was a close match."

“Many players haven’t played tournaments in the past nine months. It’s all going to be new. No one knows how the others are playing, so it will take a tournament or two to see where everyone is at. At the moment I’m focusing on improving my physical fitness, strokes and coordinated movements."

Kidambi Srikanth also talked about preparing to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after the Asian tour. The star player opined, "From March the qualification period begins and it’s again a chance to see where we’re all at having not played out a full year."

While concluding, Srikanth also expressed a desire to regain the World No.1 ranking which he achieved back in 2018. "Being ranked first is a great feeling. I’ll continue to work hard to reach No.1 again," he added.