"I think we can win again" - Parupalli Kashyap on India's chances at defending the Thomas Cup

Parupalli Kashyap, a renowned Indian badminton player turned coach, has a wealth of experience and knowledge regarding the sport. The former Commonwealth Games gold medalist is now grooming India’s next generation of badminton players, in addition to former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Kashyap shared his insights on India's chances in the upcoming Thomas Cup and his experience coaching one of India’s finest men’s singles shuttlers, Kidambi Srikanth.

When asked about their Thomas Cup prospects, Kashyap expressed confidence in India’s chances of defending their title.

“Yeah, I think we can win again. We are strong favorites to win. We have a very strong team.”

He acknowledged the strength of other teams like Malaysia, Denmark, and Indonesia but also spoke about how nothing much has changed in the international circuit since the last tournament.

“There's nothing changed from the last Thomas Cup, actually. Every team is almost the same. There's no one who's playing really well or someone who's really dominating the circuit. Nothing like that is happening,” he said.

Kashyap remained optimistic about India's chances while acknowledging the competition they would face.

“So I think we have a good chance defending. I think other teams are also quite strong. Malaysia is strong, Denmark is strong, Indonesia is strong. So we have an equal chance. I won't say we are absolute favorites.”

“You can expect big results from him” - Kashyap on Kidambi Srikanth

Kashyap took on the role of Kidambi Srikanth's coach in November last year. Shedding light on the challenges the former World No. 1 faced in terms of fitness leading up to the Olympic qualification period, Kashyap acknowledged that Srikanth was not in optimal physical shape when he began training him in November.

“I started training him from November. And he was in bad shape. I don't know for what reason because I have not been following. Physically, he was in bad shape. I mean, no second thoughts about that. The moment I started training him in a week—two weeks—I was pretty shocked. And maybe he had some niggles, and maybe he was backing off, or I don't know. And November was already six, seven months into the qualification; he was not in good shape,” he stated.

He added:

“I immediately told him that you know it's very tough to get to your level. What you want to achieve in the next two, three months, for sure. Because of my experience, I can say that you know training fitness is not a very tough thing to analyze. You can immediately, at least a top player, like probably me, who has played the circuit. I can immediately analyze that you know he is not able to play at a high intensity. Because his fitness is just dropping very considerably. And it's just time-consuming. So it takes time. It takes time—ten weeks, twelve weeks—to get to a decent level.”

Kashyap had also told Srikanth not to expect any results in January and suggested that Srikanth's suboptimal fitness might be due to his cautious approach, as he aimed to avoid a potential injury during the crucial Olympic qualification period.

“I told him that before the January circuit of Asian events, don't expect a result. You will have to train really hard to give a decent performance in March because it won't take time. And I was not sure; I had no clue why it was at this level. Maybe I don't know. I mean, I can be really harsh, but I wouldn't want to be," he said

"But it's up to the player. I mean, sometimes you just miss figuring out these things. It happens to everyone—all of us. And maybe he was trying to be careful because it was the Olympic qualification. He didn't push himself hard and then maybe risk any injury or something like that,” he added

However, Kashyap expressed satisfaction with Srikanth's dedication and work ethic, highlighting his receptiveness to coaching and willingness to push himself.

“One thing I would say is that he's brilliant to train. He's always listening, pushing himself really hard. I think in that way it was easy to coach him.”

Kashyap candidly discussed Srikanth's performance in recent tournaments, acknowledging both the positives and the areas needing improvement. He attributed Srikanth's early exits in some tournaments to a lack of confidence, stemming from a series of disappointing results in previous competitions.

However, Kashyap remained confident in Srikanth's abilities, citing his potential to deliver noteworthy performances with time and consistent training.

“I think in French he missed out. I expected a very big performance from his fans because he had a good run. He beat Chou Tien Chen in three sets. He was beating Lu Guang Zu quite easily. And just didn't have the confidence.

“You know when you have a baggage of losing one and a half years, losing the first and second rounds. You don't really believe that you're going to pull this match out. Pull that match out. If you have a six-point lead and you're messing up matches, then it's just a confidence matter.”

He went on to add:

“But I thought his level was there. But in the second tournament, it was Viktor who also lost in the first round in France. So he was fired up, and this guy was not ready for it. But then it was good that he reached the semi-finals in Swiss. It could have been a semi-final in French, and then he was in the race. But unfortunately, I thought he could win the Swiss Open lacking in fitness at the end in the semi-finals.”

Reflecting on Srikanth's progress, Kashyap expressed optimism about the future, indicating that Srikanth was on the right track despite the setbacks.

He emphasized the importance of patience and perseverance, hinting at the potential for significant breakthroughs soon.

“Now he's on the right track. I think he's going to take time. And you can expect big results from him,” he concluded.