New Delhi : Chief national coach Pullela Gopichand has lavished praise on K Srikanth after his India Open triumph, describing him as a fighter with a great range of strokes but said he still needs to improve “mental aspects” to win more laurels for the country.
Srikanth edged out World No. 6 Viktor Axelsen 18-21, 21-13, 21-12 in the final to clinch his maiden India Super Series and Gopichand said consistency will be the key to his success in the coming days.
“I think consistency will be his key. We’ve seen him play well. When you win, you normally look invincible,” he said.
“Talking from a coach’s perspective, somebody’s winning matches and suddenly they become slow and then they look as ordinary as anybody.
“From that perspective it’s good. He’s got that ability to fight and he’s got a great range of strokes that can help him change the tide of the game very quickly. We need to work on the mental aspect and physical aspects. There’s still some way to go before we could be winning everything,” he added.
Elaborating further on Srikanth’s game, Gopichand said: “He has a big smash, good net hand, and with the range of strokes he has, it makes him very good at the end points. Because he has those elements of surprise, all he needs to do is create the opening and when he does, he has a big one to round it up and follow it up really well.
“Having said that, we also have H S Prannoy, RMV Gurusaidutt, Ajay Jayaram, I think all of them have good strength.”
Before Srikanth scooped his trophy, new world no. 1 Saina Nehwal had already clinched her maiden women’s singles title at the India Open after four years.
Gopichand said it was a “dream come true” for him to see Srikanth and Saina bringing double delight to India yesterday at the Siri Fort Sports Complex. “It’s fantastic. Last few days have been great for Indian badminton. I’m extremely happy,” he said. —PTI
