Having qualifying for the Rio Olympics after a hectic schedule last month, India’s top shuttler K. Srikanth has decided to skip the BWF Thomas Cup, starting on May 15 in Kunshan, China.
“No, I’m not playing. I need to be at my best for Indonesia Open. So after the hectic schedule, will take a break to train and prepare for the Olympics,” Srikanth told PTI .
With Srikanth sitting out, the onus will be on the other two top players — Ajay Jayaram and H.S. Prannoy — to carry the Indian flag in the Team championship. Also in the team will be B. Sai Praneeth and Sameer Verma.
Three singles and two doubles will be played during the Thomas Cup.
Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy, who became the first Indian men’s doubles pair to qualify for the Olympics after the BWF World ranking were published on Thursday, will lead the doubles challenge.
Besides those two, Akshay Dewalkar, young R Satwik Sai Raj of Andhra Pradesh and Mumbai’s Chirag Shetty would complete the line-up.
India has been clubbed in Group B along with Indonesia, Thailand and Hong Kong.
Thomas Cup defending champions Japan and top seeds China found themselves in the same group. The two heavyweights were drawn in Group A alongside France and Mexico, ensuring that the starting stage of the finals itself should be an intensely competitive affair.
Second seeds Denmark, in Group D, were drawn with Chinese Taipei, New Zealand and South Africa, while Group C has Korea, Malaysia, England and Germany.
The final rounds will consist of group stage followed by knockout. The top two teams in each group will make it to the knockout stage. There will be another draw for the quarter-finals.
“These two tournaments are really important. If I gain some points and come back into top eight, comparatively I will get an easier draw. There will be 16 seeds. Seeds 5-8 will play seeds 1-4 only in the quarters, while 9-16 will play in the pre quarters. That’s why it’s important,” Srikanth said.
“I have played too many tournaments over the last five-six months. Now is the time not to play too many tournaments.
After these two tournaments, I will have nearly seven-to-eight weeks’ break. That’s the time I will train for the Olympics.
“I want to keep my body fit. I now have three-and-a-half weeks’ break. It’s a very good time (to rest and train) as in the last 4-6 months I never got four weeks of training. I am thinking to do the physical aspects now to keep me fit for the Olympics,” he said.
Srikanth has beaten top players like Lin Dan, Tommy Sugiarto and Lee Chong Wei in the Indian Badminton League.
According to the shuttler, though there was very little to choose when it came to the top 20 rankers, it was always difficult to play against the top three.
“It’s kind of more open now. The top 20 are at the same level and it depends on who is mentally strong and who plays with better strategy on a particular day.
“It’s always tough to play the top three players — Chen Long, Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan. They have so much experience, they have played in these tournaments before and they know how to handle pressure. Need to have the believe as all three have lost many matches.”
Srikanth feels his aggressive style of play is his strong point, but at the same time he wanted to unravel the mystery of winning close matches after losing a few recently.
“My attacking style is one of my biggest strengths. In the last five matches, I had lost two matches in close finishes. I just need to find out a way to pull out these close matches.
“I made some crucial mistakes and at times chose the wrong strokes to execute,” he said in a candid self-assessment.
