Parupalli Kashyap confident of hitting top form

HYDERABAD: With the plummeting form of the top international men's shuttlers, Indians like Parupalli Kashyap and Srikanth Kidambi can fancy their chances at next year's Rio Olympics. As top players like Chen Long, Lee Chong Wei, Lin Dan and Jan O Jorgensen have been inconsistent this season, any shuttler in the top-15 has a good chance of finishing on the podium.
Moreover, for the first time in history two Indians are likely to make the Olympic cut in men's singles competition.Kashyap, who had registered some impressive performances over the last two years, is keen to make the most of the situation.
After injury reduced him to the sidelines for two months, Kashyap resumed training earlier this week. "It was very disappointing to sit out injured. I was sure of qualifying for the Super Series Finals but this injury happened," said Kashyap after his training session.
The first Indian to reach the quarterfinals of men's singles at the Olympics, Kashyap is confident of hitting top form before the Olympics. "This injury took a lot of time. But now I am feeling much better. I hope to be in good shape before the badminton league," said Kashyap, who was picked by Hyderabad Hunters for $35000. "That tournament offers me good platform to assess my fitness. Moreover, I will gain some much needed match practice before I start playing international tournaments," he said.
The most important task for Kashyap now is to defend his ranking points and stay in the top 16 of world rankings by May, 2016.
The first real challenge for the world No.15 would be to defend the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold, which he won last January defeating Srikanth in the final.