A string of injuries might have pegged him down after clinching the Syed Modi crown but a fit-again Parupalli Kashyap is keeping a positive approach and is putting in the hard yards to give a good account of himself in the India Super Series badminton starting next week.
A string of injuries might have pegged him down after clinching the Syed Modi crown but a fit-again Parupalli Kashyap is keeping a positive approach and is putting in the hard yards to give a good account of himself in the India Super Series badminton starting next week.
Kashyap played through an abdominal strain to beat compatriot K Srikanth and clinch the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold event in Lucknow in January but a hamstring injury just days ahead of the All England pulled him down.
"It has been crazy. Three weeks of abdominal injury after Syed Modi, and then after just three days of training I pulled up my hamstring muscle while doing some sprints and then one and a half week went by and I just recovered but I didn't have enough time to train which culminated in me losing in first round of All England," Kashyap told PTI.
"But anyway all that are in the past. I have been training for two weeks after All England, getting better now. May be it was for good only. I got to know the weak areas of my body and strengthened them. It is good that it happened at the start of the season... So that I can work on those areas because once the qualification period starts for the Olympics, it would have been difficult. The qualification period will start from Sudirman Cup, that is from May 2014 to May 2015, so lets see."
The 28-year-old from Hyderabadi is hoping to carry forward the confidence of winning the Syed Modi tournament to the India Super Series.
"I was very confident after the Syed Modi. I played two tournaments and I won one. I feel that any GPG tournament I can win but unfortunately, because of injury I had to withdraw from German and Swiss Open. But now I want to win the India Super Series," he said.
"My focus is on the India Open now. But it has been one month where I have played a proper tournament. I always feel good playing in India, I like the crowd, the pressure helps to pump me up. But I am not thinking ahead and looking to get better every day. I know I can win."
Talking about his first round opponent Hsu Jen Hao of Chinese Taipei, Kashyap said: "He is a decent player. I have played him once. He is not in top 20 but he is a tricky first round opponent but if I can play well, I should win."
If Kashyap crosses the first hurdle, it will likely be a clash with fourth seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei, whom the Indian had defeated thrice in the past.
"I lost to Chen in the first round of All England but I was not at my best then. He has been doing well in the last six months like Srikanth. He won the French Open and reached the semis of China Open and did well in Bitburger. He is a tough opponent but I have always done well against him but I am not thinking about him," he said.
"I am just focusing on the opening round. I want to get into that rhythm because it has been more than a month that I have played a proper tournament and the first round is always important. Generally if I clear the first round, I perform well and reach the quarters and semis," he said.
Five-time World Champion and two-time Olympic champion, Lin Dan of China, will be playing the India Super Series for the first time.
Kashyap said: "It is a good thing for the tournament. He came for World Championship, Thomas Cup and Asian badminton. But as a player you are not too bothered about how he is playing. Three years back I was probably looking forward to who is coming and all but my mindset has changed now.
"It would be great if I reach a stage where I play him. I played him in 2011 in Sudirman Cup and Hong Kong Open, the second match was quite close," he added.
Kashyap hoped the Delhi crowd will come in full force to cheer the Indians.
"I hope people come to cheer us up. There was a huge crowd when me and Srikanth were playing in Lucknow. I always love the crowd cheering and I wish they came and cheer us up and India Open becomes as popular as Malaysia and Indonesia Super Series," he said.
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