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Kashyap eyes semis, Guru aims to create some upsets in Macau

Indian shuttler P Kashyap has now set his eyes on emulating the achievement in the Kumpoo Macau Open Badminton Championships starting at Macau on Monday.

New Delhi: High on confidence after his his semi-final finish at the Singapore Open, Indian shuttler P
Kashyap has now set his eyes on emulating the achievement in the Kumpoo Macau Open Badminton Championships starting at Macau on Monday. The 12th seed Indian has been in good form of late and said although the field is tough, he has backed himself to reach the semi-finals. "It is a tough field as all the top players including Lee Chong Wei, Kenichi Tago, Simon Santoso are playing in the tournament. But I have worked hard on my game and I hope to reach the semi-finals at least," said Kashyap, who will take on Swede Magnus Sahlberg in the first round. "The first round should be ok. But Tago will be a difficult opponent but I have done well in Singapore and my fitness have improved so I hope to do well in Macau," he said. Compatriot RMV Gurusaidutt, who finished runners-up at India Open in Chennai last month, is also hoping to create some upsets in the tournament. "I have played well in the last six months. I finished runners-up in India Open and lost many close matches with top players. So I am confident that I can create a few upsets in the tournament," Gurusaidutt said. "The field is good. There are some very good players but I feel it is a decent draw. In the first round I am playing a qualifier and probably should face 16th seed Kazushi Yamada in the second round. I am confident of beating him," he added. The 20-year-old Indian said adjusting to the drift inside the stadium in Macau would be important. "I have to adjust to the conditions as soon as possible. One has to know how to negotiate with the drifts during these international tournaments. I have to learn to control the shuttles and be more consistent with my strokes," he said. Gurusaidutt also said he has put on weight which allows him to improve his repertoire of strokes. "I have put on weight and become stronger physically now so it would be a good experience as I am fit and my strokes have also improved," he said. "Initially I was poor in finishing off the rallies but I have been practicing attacking rallies with Gopi (Pullela Gopichand) sir and Bhaskar Babu," he added. Gurusaidutt has also set his eyes on breaking into the top 20 ranking by this year end but said for that to achieve, he has to keep himself injury free. "The main focus would be to stay injury free and I hope to break into the top 20 by this year end. I am ranked 40 now and top 20 would be the goal this year," he said. In the women`s singles, Aditi Mutatkar will take on Chinese Xuerui Li, who had defeated world number two Indian Saina Nehwal in the semi-finals at the Asian Badminton Championship earlier this year. PTI