KUALA LUMPUR, July 6 — Indonesian men’s singles champion Anthony Sinisuka Ginting believes he is now getting closer to the peak of his performance as when he helped Indonesia win the 2020 Thomas Cup in Aarhus, Denmark, last October.
Ginting admitted his top form, after helping his country end a 19-year drought without a Thomas Cup title in Denmark, has somewhat eroded including a shock 16-21, 13-21 loss to Frenchman Lucas Claerbout at the South Korean Open in April this year.
However, based on his recent run, the sixth-best player in the world believes he can return to his best shape ahead of the World Badminton Championships in Tokyo, Japan, scheduled for August 21-28.
“I think ‘yes’ (almost at the peak of performance)... but I’m still focused on getting back to top form (which) I hope to achieve by the World Championships, and I hope the result in Japan will acquit me later,” he said when met after winning his first-round match in the 2022 Malaysian Masters here today.
He bounced back from a first-set 8-21 deficit to Kenta Nishimoto before overcoming the Japanese 21-14, 22-20, to face India’s Parupalli Kashyap, who beat Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto, 16-21, 21 -16, 21-16, in the second round tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the 25-year-old Ginting did not see the absence of two major stars, namely world number one Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and Malaysian champion Lee Zii Jia, opening up more space for him to end the drought without a championship — since the last time he did so at the 2020 Indonesian Masters when he defeated Anders Antonsen of Denmark 17-21, 21-15, 21-9 in the final.
“I don’t want to dwell on the absence of Axelsen and Zii Jia here because the chances remain the same for other players... the first match today was also tough and I can feel that too against Parupalli tomorrow,” he said. — Bernama
