It’s confirmed. Four years after becoming the first Indian to reach the men’s singles quarter-finals at the Olympics in London, ace shuttler Parupalli Kashyap will not be featuring in the 2016 edition of the biggest sporting festival on the planet.
A bright prospect in India’s medal pursuit, the Arjuna Awardee updated his Twitter followers on his present condition after going under the knife on Tuesday:
In reply, fans from all parts of the country came forward to show their support for the reigning Commonwealth Champion at this hour of adversity.
Despite multiple setbacks occurring during his run-up to the Rio Olympics, the 29-year-old Kashyap had been optimistic about his chances this year, until a twisted knee at the German Open in March eventually put to rest his hopes of bettering his record at the event.
All eyes on Kidambi Srikanth now
This outcome, thus, deprives him of repeating a similar story to that of his female counterpart Saina Nehwal, who clinched the first ever Badminton medal for India at the 2012 London Olympics after falling one short at Beijing 2008, where she had become the first Indian to make it to the last eight at the Olympics.
In London, Parupalli Kashyap had risen through the ranks to storm into the quarter-finals, where he fell to the then top-seeded Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia. With Rio out of the equation, a resolute Kashyap now remains focused on a complete recovery, so as to facilitate his return to court by June.
In his absence, all eyes now rest on Kidambi Srikanth, currently, the highest ranked (13th) Indian in men’s singles Badminton, to fulfill our medal hopes at the competition at Rio.
