PBL 2020: 'I've been here before,' says World No 25 Parupalli Kashyap after season's fourth straight loss

Hyderabad: On Thursday, India’s Parupalli Kashyap slumped to his fourth straight loss in the Premier Badminton League 2020 (PBL), going down to high-flying Hong-Konger Lee Cheuk Yiu 12-15, 11-15.

Kashyap’s performances this season are mirroring that of his team, Mumbai Rockets, who have lost all of their four ties thus far, also losing 2-5 against North Eastern Warriors.

In the first game, Kashyap showed signs of improvement from his dismal campaign thus far. His jump smashes were timed to perfection, and the inside out angle had his opponent, the 23-year-old Lee, wrong-footed and falling over.

These were well-orchestrated rallies that Kashyap was winning. On the other hand, Lee was playing an exhibition of sorts. He was curiously nonchalant at times while leaving shots well inside the tramlines, also finding the space to smash from every half-chance and setting up his opponent for the winner.

Impressive was the fact that while Kashyap found a lot of his smashes being returned with precision, Lee’s were thumping winners from the moment they left his racquet, Kashyap diving to either side but failing to return.

All hopes of the Indian forcing a decider were dashed by the World No 18 Lee with a vicious assault late in the second game.

Soon enough, Lee closed out the match, winning 2-0 and leaving Kashyap with a lot of questions to ask of himself in the change room.

Addressing the media’s queries post the match, Kashyap put on a brave face. The obvious dejection then found expression in his answers.

“My game has been a bit off. I’m trying to find form but nothing seems to be working so I’m finding it tough obviously,” said Kashyap, who was the gold medallist in men’s singles at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

“Losses like these also make you question yourself. I’m trying to figure out if it’s just a bad patch or if there are some major areas of my game where I need to make improvements.”

“I’ve been here before and have faced these questions many times in my career. These tough losses can bite away at your confidence. That’s what I’m feeling right now.”

Kashyap is no stranger to adversity, knowing full well that the sport is as much about heartbreak and dejection, as it is about storied triumphs.

In 2016, the Indian was ranked in the top-10 of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings for men’s singles and was all set to compete at the Rio Olympics. However, an injury ruled him out of the quadrennial event.

Kashyap had to make the arduous journey to recovery and full-fitness, again, having done so in 2013-14, after being ranked a career-high World No 6.

“More than anything else, the road to recovery is boring. You don’t know how long it’s going to take and all the while, you’re alone, seeing others in the academy training well and fast, keeping fit and playing tournaments,” said the 33-year-old.

“It tests your mental toughness. A lot of things change after you’ve recovered and started training. You can’t train like before and push yourself. You have to be careful that the part which has recovered shouldn’t be strained too much. A lot of corrections happen there.”

An easy win for Lee Cheuk Yiu, outclassing @parupallik in straight sets as @Mumbai_Rockets_ sink further in #MUMvNE!#RiseOfTheRacquet #PBLSeason5 pic.twitter.com/vMAdcD18c6

— Premier Badminton League (@PBLIndiaLive) January 30, 2020

In recent interviews, Kashyap said that badminton has evolved into a stamina-based sport with players ramping up their defensive game to adapt to the competition at hand in men’s singles.

When asked about his progress on that front, the World No 25 said that his dismal campaign in the PBL thus far has made him question his tactics.

“The current situation is such that I feel like I work on all the facets of my game from scratch. I’m trying, pushing, let’s see what happens,” said Kashyap.

“Otherwise, the last year or so, I’ve tried to work on all facets of my game. It’s a long-term process but I think since the World Championships in August, I’ve performed decently on the World Tour."

“I’ve won a couple of matches here and there since the Canada Open, and have reached the quarter-finals on a few occasions. Even the matches I’ve lost have been close encounters, played over three games.”

Kashyap also spoke about his road till April when the Tokyo Olympics qualification period ends.

“There will be three-four tournaments and then we’ll go back and train and then again, play some tournaments. We have to figure out our schedule, the tournaments we’ll be playing but it’s going to be tough.

“Usually, you come to know where you stand after your first couple of performances. If you feel you’re not up to the mark, better go back and train than mindlessly playing because then, you’re only losing ranking points.”

As the Olympic qualification period enters its last stretch, the worries for the Indian badminton contingent have been compounded by the poor form of most players.

In the BWF ‘Race to Tokyo’ rankings, only one Indian – World No 11 B Sai Praneeth – is ranked in the top-16. The next best-ranked Indian is Sourabh Verma, at 21, followed by Kashyap himself at 22.

In women’s singles, World No 6 PV Sindhu is the lone Indian in the top 16 while 2012 London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal has slipped down to the 22nd spot.

Asked where 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualification went awry for Indian shuttlers, Kashyap attributed it to injuries and poor form.

“The number of Indian players has increased. A lot of us are fighting for spots. Just a bad patch of injuries I think has put off the schedule for some players,” said Kashyap, who became the first Indian shuttler to reach the quarter-finals of men’s singles at the Olympics, achieving the feat at the 2012 London Games.

Asked about the changes which need to be made for an improved showing from Indian shuttlers at the Olympics, Kashyap talked about the need for more coaches and better coaching methods.

“We need numbers now. A lot of us are competing but there are just two-three coaches handling things for an entire contingent of 40-50 players. It’s an individual sport where everyone has their training methods, diets, game-plans and focussed areas of improvement.”

“The number of players has increased exponentially and there is a lot of competition amongst ourselves. We need quality coaches to help set up a team environment where everyone can work towards their goals and help each other,” he signed off.