World Badminton Championships 2017: Top 5 men's singles contenders

Modified Aug 20, 2017 03:29 IST

Australia Badminton Open — Srikanth is seeded eighth in the men's singles draw

#1 Kidambi Srikanth

BWF Destination Dubai World Superseries Finals - Day 3 — Srikanth has reached three consecutive Superseries finals this year

The Indian has had a truly mesmerising 2017 so far that has seen him break records left, right and centre, along with picking up two winner's medals at consecutive Superseries events.

He contested the final of the Singapore SS against compatriot Sai Praneeth earlier this year, but came up short. From there though, he entered the next two finals in Indonesia and Australia, where he defeated Kazumasa Sakai and Chen Long in the final respectively. Additionally, both tournament wins featured victories over Korea's Son Wan Ho as well.

Seeded eighth, Srikanth is up against Russian Sergey Sirant in his first round match, who recently won the Russian Open GP. Each round will pose a serious threat for the Indian shuttler but if he can hit top gear and build on his impressive form, he can well be on his way to a first-ever World Championship crown.

Also read: Rio bronze medalist Victor Axelsen: Srikanth is a real contender for World Championship gold medal

About the author

Shraishth Jain is a former sports journalist & content specialist, with over eight years of experience of working in the industry. A graduate of commerce, he earned his post-graduate diploma in English Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) in Delhi.

His journey in the field of sports journalism began as a freelancer with Sportskeeda in 2015, covering events from a wide range of sports across north India. He joined the organization full-time two years later and then worked at Times Now. Subsequently, he worked as a Media Officer at the All India Football Federation (AIFF) from 2019-2022, working in media operations, handling social media & PR for the federation and its various verticals, along with travelling with various national teams. He moved to RoundGlass Punjab FC for a season, before making the switch to working on his retail business.

He has been watching sports religiously for as long as he can remember. He is a die-hard Manchester United fan and spends almost all of his free time watching one sport or the other, and keeping tabs on the happenings in the world of sport around the globe.

Know More

Edited by Shraishth Jain