‘PBL will prepare me for tough international calender’

After enduring a frustrating two-month long injury lay off, Parupalli Kashyap is now all set to make a comeback at next month’s Premier badminton League and the ace Indian shuttler said the tournament will provide him much-needed match practice and help his preparation for the new season.

Kashyap suffered a torn calf muscle injury on his left leg during his second round match at the French Open Super Series in October and then he had trouble with his right knee, something which further delayed his comeback.

“I’m better now. I have been playing for a week. It was a torn calf muscle in the left leg that healed in six weeks but then there were some issues with my knee in right leg as I probably exerted too much pressure on it. So that took another 10 days to heal and that’s why it got delayed and now it is the ninth week since the injury,” Kashyap said.

“Otherwise I could have hit full training by now. Once you are injured and out for more than a month, then it is not easy to recover quickly. I lost weight and stamina and it is a slow process.

“It is good that PBL is happening. I can continue my program during the event and it will be a good match practice for the important calender ahead. It will help me a lot to get better,” he added.

The injury not only derailed his international schedule but also crushed his dream of qualifying for the Dubai Super Series Final as he slipped out of the top 10 ranking after being World No. 8 in October.

“It was frustrating these two months. I missed on too many things in life, game wise and financially also. I was playing the best among Indians and I was close to qualifying for Super Series Final but it turned out completely different,” Kashyap said.

“Now I am taking things stage and stage. Everyday is a bench mark, so it is like see how it goes say for 10 days and then again set another target. Now it is morning on court practice and evening it is weight training. So it is two sessions a day,” he said.

One of the most important tournaments for Kashyap next season will be defending his title at the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold, starting on January 26 but before that there is the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold at Penang beginning on January 19, a day after the PBL ends.

Asked if he will be playing Malaysia Masters, Kashyap said: “I have sent my entry but it depends how I feel. Since I haven’t played for 2 months, so PBL and Malaysia will help to get me back to my best and I will take my trainer and physio all time to help me with my fitness.

“I can’t just be thinking only about Syed Modi event and skip PBL and Malaysia Super Series. I will have to get as much match practice as possible to be in my best shape for Syed Modi. Also there is enough time to train after the Lucknow event as next tournament is All England in March,” he added.