We’re so much in awe of the Indian cricket team that we often tend to overlook the brilliance of various athletes who are bringing coveted laurels to the country. Indian badminton star Kidambi Srikanth is absolutely outplaying the best players in the men’s section and has successfully won two consecutive super series titles in a span of 3 weeks.
Srikanth has managed to enter the super series finals three times this year and won the grand event two times. After losing the Singapore Open final to fellow Indian Sai Praneeth, he won the Indonesian super series title and now, he has clinched a memorable win in the Australian Open final, beating the reigning Olympic and World Champion Chen Long.
Srikanth is currently ranked number 11 in the world, but the way he got the better of the supremely talent Chen Long in straight sets is something we don’t across everyday. Chen Long is an absolute magician and one of the swiftest movers on the badminton court. But when Srikanth got going, he couldn’t do anything and Srikanth finished as the Australian open super series champion, winning the match 22-20, 21-16.
Controlled aggression and tactical masterclass was the key to Srikanth’s success not just in Australia, but in Indonesia as well. He bagged the mega prize in Indonesia by downing the current world number 1 on Wan Ho, in the semi-finals, and surprise finalist, qualifier Kazumasa Sakai of Japan, in the title clash.
He currently is on a purple patch is the lad from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. A graduate from the iconic Gopi Chand Academy in Hyderabad, Srikanth is currently in the same bracket of elite players like PV Sindhu or Saina Nehwal, who’ve been the cover page of their academy for so long.
These are really some great days for Indian badminton as players like Srikanth dominating the men’s section, something which we haven’t done since Prakash Padukone’s retirement back in the 80s is all inspiring and heart warming.
