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Not many like pressure but I am beginning to like it: Parupalli Kashyap

Ace shuttler Parupalli Kashyap says he wants to play in year ending Superseries Finals while also keeping focus on next year's Olympics

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Parupalli Kashyap will hope for a good show at the European circuit
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Parupalli Kashyap, winner of the Syed Modi International Badminton Championships in Lucknow last Sunday, is confident of doing well in the rest of the year.

Currently ranked 15th in the world, he could climb a couple of places when the latest rankings are released on Thursday.

The 28-year-old who won the 2014 Commonwealth Games gold in Glasgow is hungry for more successes after a satisfactory start to the year.

"I lost in the Round of 16 at the Malaysia Masters a week before the Lucknow meet. I had planned these tournaments after the Hong Kong Open in November and wanted to do well in these two tournaments," said Kashyap, who was in the city for a health check-up and a few tests, on Wednesday.

"This has been a good few weeks for me. I now have a month's break before heading to the European circuit. I knew I would face a lot of pressure since I'd be playing at home. Winning in India is the same as winning anywhere abroad. Sometimes, I do well in a big tournament having played poorly in the tournaments preceding it. I did bad in Indonesia and Japan ahead of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Not many like pressure but I'm beginning to like it. People have always written me off, I am used to that and use it to motivate myself to go out there and win."

Entering the top-10 is not an immediate goal for Kashyap, but it's something that he surely eyes as the year progresses. "I'm not thinking about it currently. But I want to play in the year ending Superseries Finals and for that, I need to be in the top eight. Rio Olympics 2016 is also a main focus. I need to choose my tournaments wisely and keep myself injury free. If my rankings increase, I might not have to play certain tournaments. There has been a change in approach now. I play 2-3 tournaments and based on their results do I think of future tournaments. There is no point of me thinking of defending my Indian Open title next year as good performances before that could see me not playing it," said Kashyap, who will miss the National Badminton Championships in Vijayawada next month.

Kashyap defeated top seed Kidambi Srikanth (ranked fifth) in the final in Lucknow. The two train at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad.

"Srikanth and I play almost every week. And I'm talking matches, so you can imagine how much we must be practicing side by side," Kashyap said. "He knows my game inside out and I know his. My experience helped in those matches. Srikanth winning in China gave me a lot of confidence. Beating Lin Dan is no mean feat.

"I believe if I can beat Srikanth in practice, why not do the same in matches. I just need to find the right ways to train. I've learnt a lot from him like his nothing-to-lose attitude. We do share tactics when it comes to playing foreign opponents. It's not like he's not going to tell me," said Kashyap as he was settling down for fried rice, his first meal of the day. "I'm going to polish off everything. There was such good food in the flight but I had to be on an empty stomach (for the tests)."

Lack of proper recognition for badminton players is a concern for Kashyap. "I don't know why this happens. Maybe we are competing against the cricketers. Srikanth beats Lin Dan in the China Open and hardly got the recognition that he deserved. Same with my Commonwealth gold. What more do we have to do? As a brand, we haven't gained much. Besides Saina (Nehwal), people don't know the shuttlers. Just a few days back, Saina and I were at the Hyderabad airport and people didn't know I had played and won the Syed Modi tournament.

"Srikanth has entered the top five but maybe he needs to be at the very top for people to notice. The quality in us is such that quarterfinal and semifinal finishes aren't good enough. We want to lift the trophy. That's what motivates Srikanth and me. Winning Syed Modi isn't enough. I need to win the All-England, then the World Championships then maybe people will know that this guy plays badminton. Performance wise, we are right up there. But people won't know who I am if I walk on the streets. Maybe I need to come up with a controversy for people to know who Kashyap is," Kashyap said laughing.

Kashyap in recent times
Winner, Syed Modi International Badminton Championships 2015, January 2015
Quarterfinalist, China Open Superseries Premier, November 2014
Quarterfinalist, French Open Superseries, October 2014
Semifinalist, Denmark Open Superseries Premier, October 2014
Winner, Commonwealth Games, July-August 2014

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