On one hand where cricket continues to take centre-stage in the Indian sports scenario, badminton is evolving as the turtle that is slowly catching up in the race towards success. Earlier, badminton players never really managed to enjoy the mainstream popularity as compared to their counterparts in other sports, but the trend is changing now and the credit goes to the young prodigies who are leaving no stone unturned in leaving an imprint on the world. Kidambi Srikanth, who is at the pinnacle of his career, is spearheading this race with his back to back victories.
© Reuters
While the nation was busy cheering for Team India, who defeated the Kiwis by 6 runs ; Kidambi Srikanth was busy giving a tough time to Japan's Kenta Nishimoto, who finally gave in and lost the French Open Super Series men's singles final to him. It took him only 35 minutes to register a 21-14, 21-13 win over Nishimoto and show the world his true mettle.
With his spotless performance, Srikanth picked his fourth Super Series title of 2017 and became the first Indian to win four Super Series titles in a year. This is his second consecutive victory, after he brutally crushed his South Korean opponent Lee Hyun Il for the Denmark Open title.
Like a proud father whose happiness knows no bounds, Srikanth's coach Pullela Gopichand said, “It's a phenomenal achievement. Some fine badminton. Very, very attacking, overall I think he really played a perfect game.” He further added, “He is in such fine form for the last few months that I expected him to win the World title. I always said that if he plays to his potential he has the ability to win many more titles.”
© BCCL
After this triumph, Srikanth said, “I feel good winning two titles in two weeks. I am lucky to pull off some close matches this week. I thank everyone who helped me doing this,” Srikanth said. In fact, after yesterday's iconic match, he has joined the league of stalwarts like Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei and Chen Long, as the only men's singles players to win three or more Super Series titles in the same year. With this victory, Srikanth has joined the league of legendary players like Prakash Padukone and Gopichand and we don't think there's anything that's stopping him now.
Source: The Times Of India
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