PARIS: Star Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth might be inching towards the coveted World No. 1 ranking after his record-equalling Super Series win here but he says he does not want to lose sleep over chasing it.
The eighth seeded Indian beat Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto 21 -14 21-13 in the final to become the first Indian and fourth men’s singles player in the world to win four or more Super Series titles in a calendar year.
The win last night ensured Srikanth, who has played five Super Series finals this season, bag his second consecutive title in two weeks after winning the Denmark Open in Odense last week.
His performance will see him jump in the rankings when the BWF released the chart on Thursday.
Asked if he was looking at the number one spot, he said: “I don’t know (if I will be No. 1). Definitely, I will go up higher in the rankings but I am not sure where I will be. I have not been pursuing it.”
Before Denmark and French titles, Srikanth had won back- to-back titles at Indonesia and Australia in June.
Srikanth said World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark is still way ahead of him in terms of points.
“I think there is a lot of difference between me and Viktor (Axelsen) for sure before Denmark Open. I don’t think I will be number one, I might improve a rank or two,” he said.
“It is good to be there definitely but I am not thinking about it now. I don’t really have any tournament to defend anywhere, so I don’t want to push myself for the ranking and just want to enjoy playing, that’s it,” he added.
Talking about the last couple of weeks, Srikanth said: “I am just happy with the way I performed in the last couple of weeks. There were some close matches. I feel I was little lucky to pull off those matches, otherwise I am pleased how it went for me.”
Follow our WhatsApp channel
