Indonesia champion Kiran George not high on rankings

Kiran George with his medal. Pic/Badminton Indonesia’s Twitter

India shuttler Kiran George, who clinched his second BWF World Tour Super 100 title - the Indonesia Masters trophy in Medan on Sunday - is ranked 50th in the world, but he's not too keen on improving that ranking. Instead, he wants to focus on winning titles. George beat Japan's World No. 82 Koo Takahashi 21-19, 22-20 in the final.

Interestingly, in June, when George lost in the quarter-finals at the Thailand Open Super 500 tournament, his focus was on improving his ranking, and was aiming to finish World No. 30 by year end. "Now, I am not really bothered about rankings. I want to win more titles because if I do that, the ranking will automatically improve," George, 23, told mid-day from Indonesia.

Also Read: Thailand Open badminton: Kiran George defeats China's Shi Yuqi to enter pre-quarterfinals

George fell 1-4 behind at the start of the match, but slowly caught up with Takahashi at 8-8 before gaining a two-point lead at the interval. The Indian then jumped to an 18-15 lead. Takahashi came close at 19-20 before George won the opener. In Game 2, it was close till 6-6, before George went ahead 16-11. Takahashi drew parity at 19-19, but George converted his second game point for victory.

The Kochi-born youngster, who trains at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA) in Bangalore, is grateful to former India coach U Vimal Kumar for his constant support. "Vimal sir [director of PPBA] has been an excellent support system. He motivates me, corrects me when I'm doing something wrong and helps keep my head in the right place."