Srikanth says he started to work harder after seeing ‘everyone else at the Academy giving their all during training’.

Shuttler Kidambi Srikanth returned home to Hyderabad from a dream fortnight where he beat Chinese great Lin Dan and cracked the top 10 in the world. Moving to No 8 in the rankings this week, the 21-year-old talks about the cold reception of the Chinese, the hot trending on Twitter the day he won China Open, training at 4.30 am for years and enjoying cricket only because of Fab Four. Excerpts:

What are your memories of the Lin Dan win?

A few points in the first set — some switch shots and smashes. I lost one match point, and coaches told me to calm down. They said there’s just one point left, and don’t lose focus unnecessarily. The previous night they’d told me to stay confident and not get worked up about it being Lin Dan. They told me I’d been playing well throughout the tournament and handled every situation well. There was no need to worry.

How did you celebrate?

There was no celebrations, frankly. I headed off to dope testing, then spoke to Gopi Sir, then we travelled to Hong Kong. There was nothing to do in HK either. Also, since I’d won the title in China, I needed to perform well in the next match so that no one thought the win against Lin Dan was a fluke.

How did the Chinese react to your win against Lin Dan?

It was too big for me. There at a press conference before the final, I’d said playing Lin Dan was a dream come true. But after winning, it was like an OK OK kind of reception from the Chinese press. They are sort of indifferent to non-Chinese. They don’t talk about other players much. Just a few questions were asked for about five minutes. It was very strange because the win was massive for me. But this is also an experience.

Indian response wasn’t so tepid. What were the highlights?

I was very surprised I got a congratulatory tweet from former President APJ Abdul Kalam. That made me very happy as I’m a big fan of his. Then others like the PM, President, Sachin Tendulkar, Laxman, the CMs of Telangana and Seemandhra also wished me on Twitter. But most fun was when few of my seniors from school, who’d not spoken to me for years, got in touch and wished me. Nobody knew me in school because I was quiet. Outside of badminton world, I’m still very quiet.

You won your title at Fuzhou, considered the home of shuttle in China. How did your own badminton journey start?

I wasn’t fully into it as a child. I learnt to take it seriously only when I shifted to the Gopichand Academy. I saw everyone else was furiously into it. They thought and spoke of nothing else and gave it their everything. It rubs onto you. Also, I thought if I’ve come this far from home for the sport, why not play it well.

How has your brother K Nandagopal contributed to your career?

I’ve had my brother by my side all the time at the Hyderabad academy. Even when I went from Guntur to Khammam for badminton, he was there to guide me. So wherever I’ve trained, there’s always been this family feeling and I’ve never felt alone. Staying away, you miss home food at times. But if you want to get something in life, you have to give up on some other things. You can’t get everything. When I shifted from doubles to singles after finishing my juniors, that was also when my brother shifted from singles to doubles. He’d explain to me how things happen on the international circuit. He told me — if Gopi Sir trusts your ability so much, why don’t you trust yourself.

How challenging was the shift from doubles to singles?

It was tough. What was tougher was coping with not getting results immediately in singles. Gopi Sir told me soon after my last junior nationals that when you graduate to seniors you can’t be in all events day in, day out. I had to choose. He pointed towards singles.

What is your coach Gopichand’s role in this success?

Total credit for my career goes to Gopi Sir. If he hadn’t shifted me at the right time, God knows where I would be right now. He trusted me, and was there to train me everyday. We’d have our sessions at 4.30 in the morning before the international players arrived at 6 am. Only a few people like Sindhu and me and sometimes Kashyap would train at 4.30 am. Initially it was tough to get up at 4. But after a week, I got adjusted. I realised if the coach can wake up and come at 4.30 am, then as a player how can you say it’s a ridiculous hour to train.

What part of doubles helped in singles?

As a doubles player, I used to play a lot at the net, so when I shifted, I needed to concentrate very little on the net. But I had to learn to play more from the back-court. In doubles you hit a lot to the centre of the court, in singles you learn to hit the lines and flanks. Also covering the whole court alone is a massive physical adjustment. I also had to change my footwork.

Who are your idols in sport?

In sports, off the court and badminton, it is Gopi Sir. But I’m a big fan of Lin Dan. I first saw him play the 2008 Olympic finals, and what struck me was he was so fast. I love Roger Federer, and watch a lot of tennis. I’m not completely a fan of cricket, but my favourites will be Sachin, Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman. They were brilliant to watch together.

I’d played him twice before. The first time two years ago I had nothing to do on the court. It was a slaughter. The next time was at the Asian championship where I lost in the first round. I think 12, 10. I didn’t play at all, I was just not allowed to. What happened was I hadn’t planned at all the first two times and they were early rounds. This time, I’d gotten used to the conditions. There was this one stroke — a forehand cross-net at the start of the second set. I played it for the first time in a tournament. I had practised it earlier. I didn’t even want to play it at that point in the match, but it came off. It was that kind of a day, when I was confident I could play all my strokes. It’s a big kick, when the few special strokes you have, you can play them at the right time in a match. That makes me happy.

Does beating Lin Dan put immediate pressure to win every match from now on?

I don’t take anything as pressure. In the first round at Hong Kong, the opponent (Chou of Taipei) had won the French Super Series, and I’d won China. So both of us had been playing well, and he was consistent. But I didn’t feel any stress because I go into every match as 50-50 irrespective of who’s the opponent. In every match, I just need to play a little better than the opponent, that’s my approach.

What’s life like outside of badminton?

I watch some movies, and a few Telugu and Hindi comedy shows crack me up. I don’t really have favourites. If a movie is good I’ll like it, but I’m not a movie freak or a big fan of movie stars. I don’t read much either, sometimes just play games on my phone. I just sleep whatever time I get off from training.

Gopichand is quite strict about the diet of each of his charges. Any sacrifices?

It’s not much of a sacrifice that we don’t eat sweets. But we can’t have sugar in the body if we have to do well. Occasionally I enjoy sweets though, not chocolates or ice cream, but Indian mithai that you get in sweet-shops.

World No 8 is a sweet spot to be in, in a year when you started as No 47. What’s the goals for the future?

I’m No 8 in the world, but it’s not about the rankings. I want to win many more tournaments — the World Championship and Olympic medals. I need to be consistent and I will always believe each match starts 50-50, so I can win any face-off. It’s tough maintaining consistency everyday, but not impossible.