Thailand Open: Badminton star Kidambi Srikanth hopes to test his physical mettle

Ace Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth's new year resolution is to get as fit as possible ahead of a busy international calendar that starts with Thailand Open, after a year that was affected by the pandemic.

Many tournaments were cancelled across the world due to the deadly virus. Even training courts were locked down which meant that the athletes had to spend a significant time of the year indoors, away from training.

"I would like to be physically fit and do well in all the tournaments that I play. The New Year resolution that I managed to hold onto was to get physically better. I think I managed to work on my physical fitness and get better," said the badminton player.

From his experiences last year, he has understood that he cannot afford "to take anything for granted."

He has already flown to Bangkok and is set to be in action in the Thailand Open which starts from January 12. In fact, his maiden BWF Grand Prix title came at the Thailand Open in 2013 when he beat local favourite Boonsak Ponsana in the final in straight sets.

The 27-year-old will be hoping to put up a similar show this time around.

Meanwhile, India hockey skipper Manpreet Singh has also set his own fitness goals for 2021.

"The fitness goal I want to achieve this year would be to improve on my speed and strength. To maintain my fitness and my mental health. Despite things not going exactly as I had planned, I managed to follow the fitness routine I had set for myself," he said.

"Being positive and patient no matter how difficult the situation because I learnt that if you are positive you will definitely find a way out of it," he added.

But their scheduled tour of South Africa has been cancelled due to the new strain of Coronavirus and another surge in the number of cases.

The ‘Summer Series’ in South Africa would have marked the men’s hockey team’s return to international competition in almost a year. Originally scheduled to take place in Cape Town from January 10-27, the tournament would have featured the hosts, Great Britain and France apart from India.