An upbeat P. Kashyap has set his sights on winning the title at the $200,000 India Open, which boasts of a field featuring four higher-ranked players, including World No.1 Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei, this month.
The country's biggest international badminton event is due to held at the Siri Fort Indoor Stadium here from April 23 to 28.
Ranked No.8 in the world, Kashyap has been quoted by the organisers of the annual event, as saying: “I have a very good chance of becoming the first Indian to win the India Open and lead the way for my compatriots.”
Kashyap’s optimism comes despite the presence of Lee Chong Wei, apart from Indonesia’s Sony Dwi Kuncoro, Denmark’s Jan O Jorgensen, China’s Chen Jin and Japan’s Kenichi Tago, ranked fourth, sixth, seventh and 10th in the world, in that order.
Former Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat and fellow Indonesian Simon Santoso are also part of the draw.
Kashyap, a quarterfinalist at the London Olympics and winner of the Syed Modi Grand Prix title last year, said: “I always enter a tournament aiming to win, and nothing changes in the India Open. I have a lot of points to defend but my focus will be to win the tournament.”
