By Saumojyoti Singha Choudhury, IANS
New Delhi : India’s No. 1 badminton player Anup Sridhar has said although he is not a planner, his immediate goal is to hold on to his No.1 ranking in the country to qualify for the Beijing Olympics in August.
“Making plans is not my cup of tea. I just take things as they come. However, my immediate goal is to stick to the No. 1 position in India to book an Olympic berth,” said Sridhar, ranked 26th in the world.
To qualify for the Beijing Olympics in August, Sridhar has to maintain his No. 1 position till April 30, which is the last date for the Games’ qualification, as only the top-ranked from the country will earn an automatic entry. His nearest competitor is Anand Pawar, presently ranked 44th in the world.
However, top women badminton player of the country Saina Nehwal, ranked 27th, has already made it to the Beijing Olympics by virtue of her Philippines Open win last year.
Sridhar, who last year created ripples in world badminton by registering two upset wins in the World Championships by beating Olympic champion Taufiq Hidayat of Indonesia and then world No. 16 Muhammad Hafiz Hashim of Malaysia, told IANS that he had a great chance of becoming the World Champion if he had got the better of world no.1 Lin Dan of China in the quarter-finals.
“If I had won the quarter-finals then I had a chance of winning the tournament, but he (Lin Dan) beat me comfortably. I have to improve my game if I wish to beat him in the near future,” said the 24-year-old tall lanky shuttler from Bangalore, who is here to participate in the first Pramod Mahajan All-India ranking tournament.
On the current tournament, Sridhar said there are five players who can give him a run for his money. “I have a good chance of winning the tournament along with Chetan Anand, Anand Pawar, Ajay Jairam and P. Kashyap. Two or three other players are also capable of making a few upsets but I don’t think they can win the tournament,” he said.