Rio 2016: Kidambi Srikanth prefers ‘Underdog’ tag for Olympics

Srikanth prefers him as underdog in Rio 2016. File Pic
Srikanth prefers him as underdog in Rio 2016. File Pic

Internet Desk: Tremendous pressure that surrounded him for the last few months helped Kidambi Srikanth increase his performance. Worrying for his own performance Srikanth declares him as an underdog in his men’s badminton event of Rio Olympics.

This year Srikanth bagged two tournaments- Syed Modi International and South Asian Games. Other major events like PBL, Malaysian Grand Prix, SAF Games or German Open could not satisfy him. As a result qualification of Srikanth for the Rio was in doubt till May.

This year in May seven shuttlers were selected from Andhra Pradesh with whom Srikanth had to compete with. “I was happy to qualify. It was a big dream. I knew it but in May to actually officially qualify was a big moment. I hope I can make India proud”, said Srikanth.

But to make India proud Srikanth has two hurdles to dodge- Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia and Lin Dan of China. However, to dodge these two hurdles Srikanth has already had his preparation. According to him the packed schedule he faced for the last few months helped him the best.

He said, “I was not worried about my ranking, I was worried because I was not getting time to train. I was playing one event after another whether it was PBL, Malaysia, SAF games, or German Open or ABC, there was simply no time. But I think it kind of helped me identify the areas where I need to work on and it helped me in my preparation of Olympics. Every match counts, every tournament counts, whether it is a win or loss, it is all about how you take it. You need to take the positives out of every match you play. So it kind of helped me”.

Srikanth is the lone singles participant for the Rio Olympics. Competing the world best is always tough, as is confessed by Srikanth. However, he got some confidence thinking this way, “They are the most experienced players who have played in the last 2-3 Olympics and I think they will have an advantage. But it doesn’t help everyone all the time. It can help to get a few close points but then there are so many players who win a tournament or a medal playing for the first time. So it doesn’t help always. It is tough for the to top players because there are too many expectations and pressure, so I am happy being a dark horse or an underdog”.