Kidambi Srikanth Set to Become World No 1: Top Achievements of Indian Badminton Star Player

Star Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth is all set to be ranked the World No. 1 badminton player. The 25-year-old will become the first Indian male player to achieve the feat when BWF World Rankings are released on Thursday. Saina Nehwal was the first top ranked Indian player in women’s badminton on April 3, 2015 and now it is Srikanth’s to repeat the feat in men’s singles. Kidambi Srikanth is in Australia to participate in Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018, where the skilled badminton player led India to gold medal in mixed team event against Malaysia. He defeated the former world no.1 Lee chong wei of Malaysia and is now all set to displace current No. 1 and world champion Viktor Axelsen with 76,895 points in men’s singles category.

Apart from guiding Indian team to gold medal in mixed team event in CWG 2018, Kidambi Srikanth has now got his eyes fixed on excelling in singles event of the multi-sport event. He has advanced into the Round of 16 after beating Aatish Lubah of Mauritius and will next face Niluka Karunaratne of Sri Lanka on April 12, 2018. However, the biggest news about Hyderabadi player is his world number one rankings. It is another landmark achievement in Srikanth’s illustrious career that has been on a mercurial rise. Here’s a list of glorious moments from the life of young and talented Indian shuttler.

1. Srikanth Kidambi became the first Indian male player to win the Indonesia Super Series beating Japan's Kazumasa Sakai 21–11, 21–19.
2. In 2017 touted to be his breakthrough year, Srikanth set a record for India of entering three straight Super Series Finals, beginning with Singapore Super Series (he lost to fellow Indian player Sai Praneeth), Indonesia Super Series (won beating Sakai of Japan) and Australian Super Series (won by beating China's Chen Long 22–20, 21–16). He added another Super Series title to his glittering quest for success by winning French Super Series.
3. He has clinched two gold medals in 2016 South Asian Games held in Guwahati. Srikanth won in the men’s singles and team event to impress everyone about with his agility and hunger for success.
4. In 2015, Srikanth Kidambi became the first Indian male to win gold at the 2015 Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold. He defeated Danish badminton player Viktor Axelsen 21–15,12–21,21–14 to announce his arrival on the international circuit. He followed up his good show by winning India Open Super Series title, once again beating Viktor Axelsen in the finals.
5. In the ongoing Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, the player from Andhra Pradesh heavily contributed the Indian badminton team in creating history by bagging the first-ever gold and they did it in style by beating three-time and defending champions Malaysia 3-1 in the finals.
6. Srikanth is recipient of Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award which he was awarded on March 21, 2018 by Ram Nath Kovind, the President of India. He has also received the Arjuna Award in 2015.

Every fan is waiting for April 12 in anticipation when the Badminton World Federation (BWF) releases its weekly rankings. “This is a huge achievement for Srikanth as well as for Indian badminton,” Kidambi Srikanth’s coach Pullela Gopichand was quoted saying from Gold Coast, Australia.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 11, 2018 04:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).