File photo of Kidambi Srikanth
India’s Kidambi Srikanth on Sunday said the World Championships silver medal is the result of years of hard work after falling short of the top prize here on Sunday. The 28-year-old’s silver medal made him the first Indian man to achieve the feat in a marquee tournament, even before losing 15-21, 20-22 to Loh Keen Yew of Singapore in the men’s singles final.
“In some tournaments, I played really well and in some tournaments, I couldn’t play well this year, but again, reaching the finals of the World Championships is something I worked really hard for, and I am really glad to be here today,” said Srikkanth.
“I will try to keep working hard, it is a process and there are many other tournaments next year, like Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, World Championships, so it is a huge year, next year. So I will try to stay positive. Stay.”
Srikanth, currently ranked 14th in the world, had a few moments but lost the lead 9-3 and 18-16 in two matches to lose the coveted title.
“It’s been a good week. Even today I had my chances in both the games. I had a good lead in the first game and in the second game too, I had a cushion of 18-16. I was not able to finish the match today .Loh played really well,” he said. “There are a lot of things to learn from this, so of course I will work on it and try to get better for the next tournament.”
Talking about his mindset before the final, Srikkanth said: “Going into this match, I really wanted to be positive and didn’t want to make mistakes. But sometimes it happens, one has to win “Someone has to lose. I tried to stay in it. Match, it worked in the second game but finishing the match is important, but yeah, it’s something I’ll need to work on.”
Srikanth had defeated Loh only three years ago in the 2018 Commonwealth Games mixed team event.
“The last time I played him was four (three) years ago, which is a long time. He has improved his game, he has matured as a player, his physical strength has improved and He’s playing exceptionally well.”
Srikkanth faced a lot of difficulties in securing his visa to visit Spain and the Indian said he was not sure whether he would be able to attend the event.
“I didn’t know if I would be able to come here till Thursday. I found out on Thursday evening, I think about 6 o’clock I got my visa, so I was not sure whether I would be able to come here or not. So yes “I’m happy to be here and play another tournament. It’s been a good week for me. I was able to play well all week. I would have loved to win today.”
The Malaysian-born Loh was in disbelief after becoming the first player from his country to win the World Championships title.
“I can’t believe it. I mean, at the beginning of the year I didn’t think it would happen. Now I can tell you that I am finally happy, I don’t need to focus on tomorrow’s match, “The world said number 22.
Sharing his game plan for the final, Loh said: “He (Srikanth) is such a good attacking player, I knew defending his shots wouldn’t be easy. So I needed to be ready to defend him.” And didn’t let him do that. Too much attack. It didn’t work well in the beginning and I had to pick up the pace and take the initiative from the front. It was not easy to strike a balance between being patient and being aggressive. I wanted to win, but this It wasn’t easy to stay calm, but I managed to do it well in the end and it worked out well. I know I’m not an underdog anymore. I need to think about how I managed things Be it, I can do it only by playing in competitions, winning or losing I can learn from it. So I hope I can handle the pressure.”
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