Kashyap gears up for do-or-die India Open

New Delhi: P Kashyap has some happy memories at the Siri Fort stadium, the venue for the upcoming India Open, and the ace shuttler is confident that with the crowd behind him he can qualify for the London Olympics with a good performance at the Super Series event.

Kashyap is currently just two spots behind Ajay Jayaram at number 30 in the world ranking and will be hoping to end as the highest ranked national player by the end of the India Open, which is the last event in the one-year qualifying period for the London Olympics. "The Yonex Sunrise Indian Open is going to be a do-or-die battle for me. But I have happy memories of the Siri Fort venue, where I won the Commonwealth medal in 2010, and I am confident that the crowd will give me similar support," said Kashyap. The India Open has a higher significance for the country this year as all the five categories have shuttlers who have a chance to qualify for the London Games. While Saina Nehwal is already through in women`s singles, she would be vying to better her ranking and break into top four so that she would not have to meet world`s top players before the semifinals in the Olympics. Mixed doubles combination of Jwala Gutta and V Diju are currently ranked 16th in the world and will have to at least retain their ranking, while women`s doubles pair of Jwala and Ashwini Ponnappa, currently ranked 20th, will have to come up with a good performance to qualify. Men`s doubles team of Sanave Thomas and Rupesh Kumar, who are ranked 28th in the world, too have a chance to qualify for the London Games. The India Open has attracted over 250 entries and would include the likes of 2010 World Champion Chen Jin of China, World No one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia and former World and Olympics champion Taufiq Hidayat of Indonesia. PTI