I never give up, says Kidambi Srikanth

New Delhi: On a roll since his China Open triumph, ace shuttler Kidambi Srikanth on Monday attributed his success and meteoric rise in world rankings to a "never give up till the end" attitude and said he is ready to work harder to achieve the unprecedented World No. 1 status.

Srikanth, who clinched the Swiss Grand Prix Gold earlier this month, rose to World No. 4 on the back of some sizzling performances, including winning the China Open crown last year beating two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan.

On the eve of the USD 275,000 India Open Super Series, Srikanth said: "I don't think I am better at wriggling out of tricky situations, it is just that I don't give up till the last. I don't want to leave the match, don't want to give easy points. Don't want to lose the confidence. I want to win it from any situation. I think I have been lucky to do it more often."

The 22-year-old from Guntur is starting as the second seed and will open his campaign against Thailand's Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk, ranked world No. 19 on Wednesday at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.

Srikanth said beating five-time world champion Lin Dan boost his confidence and he hopes to continue his good run in the event starting here tomorrow.

"Beating one of the legends of badminton in his own country and that too in the finals, it gives you a lot of confidence. I performed well after that and I hope I can do that here as well. I hope we clash again here," he said.

"I have been just trying hard. I have been playing well but I have been lucky too to rise in world rankings so fast. We have good 6-7 players in India and it has helped me to grow and I hope it continues."

After winning the China Super Series Premier in Fuzhou,

Srikanth reached the semifinals of Hong Kong Open and World Super Series Finals in Dubai, before finishing runners-up at the Syed Modi GPG and winning the Swiss Open.

Explaining how he mentally prepares for big events, Srikanth said: "I just want to improve and win every game. The day before I play a match, I actually think about the opponent and think about the strategy I have to use. If I have played him before then I will watch that video."

Asked if being World No 1 is one of the targets, Srikanth said: "Becoming the world No 1 is something which is a really good thing to happen for any sportsperson, to be at the top of the world and I hope it happens to me and I am ready to work for that."

Talking about his expectations for the India Super Series, Srikanth said: "It is a super series event so there won't be any easy matches. We have to play really hard. I think I can physically match the best of the world. I can't challenge anything but I am confident about my fitness. I don't think I am lacking in anything but I want to keep improving.

"The top 12-15, most of them have same level, it is just that we have to pull off that match on that given day," he added.

Asked about his game, he said, "My attacking game is my strength but I have been working on a few other styles of game, may be a rally kind of game. I am working on it. You don't get things easily, we have to work on that always."