Indian shuttler RMV Gurusaidutt on Monday said the Commonwealth Games bronze medal has helped him regain belief in himself as he was battling fitness doubts ahead of the match.
Guru had to play three gruelling matches in a little over a day and the Indian said he was “tensed and doubtful” about his fitness before his bronze medal contest against Rajiv Ouseph but he decided to go without any expectations.
“It was really close match. The conditions are very slow here and I had to play a lot of rallies. I was not expecting to win. I just wanted to stick to my strategy and kept telling myself to keep fighting,” Guru told PTI.
“It was extremely tiring because I had a close match on Friday night against top seed Cheng Wei Feng and then in the morning I played Derek Wong and then within few hours I had to play the bronze medal match.
“So when I was playing there was lots of questions in my mind like if I will last the match. I knew it is going to be another long match and so I was tensed and doubtful. I was not feeling strong on my legs during the third game in the first match but Gopi Sir really pumped me up and that really pushed me, I am happy I could win,” said Guru, who had won the singles title at 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games.
The 24-year-old was desperate for such a victory ever since making foray into international circuit in 2008 and he said it will act as a great motivation for him.
“It was disappointing to miss the finals but this medal has boosted my confidence and it is completely different feeling. It made me believe in myself. Such a medal changes everything, we have seen that with Kashyap. It is a life time achievement. The recognition and the motivation that one gets is immense. I hope I can keep pushing myself further and it changes my career,” he said.
“Last two months I have been playing well. The Thomas Cup was a big turning point. It was a team championship and we don’t get to play such big events much and so to perform at that stage helped my confidence. I had worked on my net game and it sort of opened up my game. I am more confident at the nets now,” he added.
