Rio de Janeiro: Having stunned World number 5 Jan Jorgensen in straight games, Indian ace shuttler K Srikanth said he was well prepared with his strategy against the Dane that helped him secure a quarterfinal spot in the Rio Olympics here.
Kidambi won 21-19, 21-19 in a 42-minute match to set up a clash with two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan of China and Srikanth said he had studied Jorgensen’s game as he had played him in 2014.
“I last played him in 2014 so it’s been quite a long time and I was really well prepared with my strategy,” said the 23-year-old from Guntur, who had come into the match with a 1-2 head-to-head record against Jorgensen.
It was a very close match with both the shuttlers going neck and neck till the end with Srikanth sealing some crucial points to go ahead.
“My attack really worked. If I have the chance to kill the shuttle I am really going for it otherwise I’m really happy to make the long rallies,” he said.
“I was really happy to kill those crucial three points in the end.
“My strategy worked really well at that particular moment. It happens in every match that the opponent starts reading your game and it only depends on how well you get back. I think I was really fast and quick and I didn’t give him any big leads at that particular moment.”
On his strategy, Srikanth said: “What matters in the end are those simple points which in the beginning really changed the game.
“I really don’t want to take too much pressure, force the pace and make too many mistakes. I wanted to play safe and not give too many easy points away.
PTI