What’s the story?
Indian badminton ace Srikanth Kidambi has dedicated the Indonesia Open Superseries Premier title win to his father, KVS Krishna. This was his first Superseries title in 27 months and the fact that it came on Father’s Day made it even more special for the unassuming Guntur-born shuttler.
Srikanth’s father had been instrumental in paving the way for his stellar badminton career and the Pullela Gopichand protégé simply had to take this opportunity to thank his father, as reported by BadmintonPlanet.com.
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“Among the three Super Series titles I’ve won so far (2014 China Open, 2015 India Open, 2017 Indonesia Open), the is especially special simply because it had come on Father’s Day,” said the 24-year-old.
“My father is a great inspiration to me, he guided me all the way until today to win this tournament,” he explained.
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Srikanth became the first Indian male shuttler to win the Indonesian Open Superseries Premier and the second one overall after Saina Nehwal.
This win ended his 17-month title drought on the BWF circuit. His last professional achievement prior to this was back in January 2016 when he lifted the Syed Modi International crown.
This was also his third triumph at the Superseries level after earlier accomplishments at the China Open in 2014 and the India Open in 2015.
The heart of the matter
This win came after a long and arduous journey that saw him fight off inconsistency and recover from a stress fracture in his right ankle that robbed him of three months on the BWF circuit at the end of 2016. Srikanth, who burst on to the scene in late 2014, climbed to as high as No. 3 in the world in August 2015 until his decline began.
Naturally, this victory reinforces the belief that he once had in his abilities, but lost in between. The clarity in his decision-making under pressure is evident these days and that is being reflected in his fine performances.
Srikanth’s perseverance will also be rewarded in the rankings. In the upcoming rankings, the World No. 22 will surge 11 places to No. 11 and, in the process, overtake Ajay Jayaram to become India’s No. 1 again.
What’s next?
Srikanth will next be seen in action at the Australian Open Superseries. The main draw action at this tournament begins on Wednesday.
The Indonesia Open champion will take on a qualifier in the first round and is slated for a blockbuster second-round clash with the top seed and World No. 1 Son Wan Ho. The Indian upset the latter en route to the title in Jakarta last week.
Author’s take
All eyes will be on Srikanth after his smashing display in Indonesia. Time and again he has admitted that the new Indonesian coach, Mulyo Handoyo has been responsible for bringing back his confidence after his injury break last year.
It will be nice to see him continue with the same spirit he showed all throughout the week in Indonesia.
