Wikipedia

Srikanth Kidambi

Srikanth Kidambi (born 7 February 1993) is an Indian badminton player. A former world no. 1, Kidambi was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, in 2018.[1] and the Arjuna award in 2015. In 2021, he became the first Indian to reach the World Championship final in the men's singles discipline.[2]

Srikanth Kidambi
Kidambi at the 2013 French Super Series
Personal information
Birth nameSrikanth Nammalwar Kidambi
CountryIndia
Born (1993-02-07) 7 February 1993 (age 31)
Ravulapalem, Andhra Pradesh, India
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight73 kg (161 lb)
HandednessRight
CoachPullela Gopichand
Men's singles
Career record312 wins, 185 losses
Highest ranking1 (12 April 2018)
Current ranking40 (5 November 2024)
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  India
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2021 Huelva Men's singles
Thomas Cup
Gold medal – first place 2022 Bangkok Men's team
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Gold Coast Mixed team
Silver medal – second place 2018 Gold Coast Men's singles
Silver medal – second place 2022 Birmingham Mixed team
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Birmingham Men's singles
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 2022 Hangzhou Men's team
Asia Team Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Hyderabad Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Manila Men's team
South Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2016 Guwahati–Shillong Men's singles
Gold medal – first place 2016 Guwahati–Shillong Men's team
Gold medal – first place 2019 Kathmandu–Pokhara Men's team
Asian Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Lucknow Mixed team
Commonwealth Youth Games
Silver medal – second place 2011 Douglas Mixed doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Douglas Boys' doubles
BWF profile

Early life and background

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Srikanth Nammalwar Kidambi was born in Ravulapalem, Andhra Pradesh on 7 February 1993 to a Telugu family. His father, KVS Krishna, is a landlord, and his mother Radha is a house-wife.[3] His older brother K. Nandagopal is also a badminton player and junior national champion with his brother. They used to live in the same house until 2008 and then Srikanth moved to the Gopichand Academy for continuing his practice.[4]

Career

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2011

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In the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games in the Isle of Man, Kidambi won the bronze medal in men's doubles and silver in mixed doubles.[5] He also emerged as the winner in the singles and doubles category at the All India Junior International Badminton Championship held in Pune.[6]

2012

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In 2012, Kidambi overcame the then Junior World Champion Zulfadli Zulkiffli of Malaysia in the Maldives International Challenge to claim the men's singles title.[7]

2013

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In the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold event, Kidambi won the men's singles title, beating then world number eight and local favorite Boonsak Ponsana in straight games.[8] In the same year, Kidambi beat reigning champion and Olympian Parupalli Kashyap in the All India Senior National Championships in Delhi to claim his first senior national title.[9] He was also part of the Awadhe Warriors team that finished second in the Indian Badminton League, 2013.[10]

2014

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Kidambi finished runner up at the 2014 India Open Grand Prix Gold event in Lucknow[11] and was a quarterfinalist in the 2014 Malaysian Open.[12] He was part of the Indian badminton contingent that reached the semi-finals of the mixed team event at the Commonwealth Games 2014 in Glasgow.[13] He also reached the quarter-finals of the men's singles event in the same tournament. [14] In November, he created a major upset in the final of the 2014 China Open Super Series Premier by beating 5-time World Champion and 2-time Olympic Champion Lin Dan in straight games (21–19, 21–17), thus becoming the first Indian to win a Super Series Premier men's title.[15] He then reached the semi-finals of the Hong Kong Open Super Series after beating Taiwan's Chou Tien-chen in an early round. He lost to Chen Long of China in three games in the semi-finals. With those wins, he was qualified for the World Superseries Finals. He defeated Kento Momota (15–21, 21–16, 21–10) and Tommy Sugiarto (21–18, 21–13) in the group stage to reach the semi-final of the prestigious BWF Super Series Masters Finals, where he lost again to Chen Long of China.[16]

2015

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Kidambi became the first Indian man to win gold at the 2015 Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold by defeating Viktor Axelsen 21–15, 12–21, 21–14. During the same year, he also won the India Open Super Series title by defeating Viktor Axelsen in the final.[17]

2016

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Kidambi reached the semifinal in the Malaysia Masters, where he lost to Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin of Malaysia in January. The following week, he won the Syed Modi International Badminton Championships Grand Prix Gold title, defeating Huang Yuxiang 21–13, 14–21, 21–14 in the final. At the 2016 South Asian Games, he won two gold medals, in men's team and men's singles, defeating Prannoy Kumar in the singles final. At the 2016 Badminton Asia Team Championship, although his team lost in the semifinal, he remained undefeated.

In the 2016 Rio Olympics, the World No. 11 Kidambi entered the Round of 16 of the men's singles by beating Lino Muñoz and Henri Hurskainen. He went on to beat World No. 5 Jan Ø. Jørgensen 21–19, 21–19 to reach the quarterfinals,[18] but was defeated by Lin Dan by a score of 6–21, 21–11, and 18–21.

2017

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Kidambi and Sai Praneeth created history when they became the first ever Indian pair to enter the finals of a ranking event in Badminton. Both hailing from Hyderabad and being coached by Pullela Gopichand, it was Sai Praneeth who prevailed 17–21, 21–17, 21–12 eventually to clinch the Singapore Super Series title.[19]

Kidambi won the Indonesia Super Series beating Japan's Kazumasa Sakai 21–11, 21–19, thereby becoming the first ever Indian male player to do so. He went on to win the Australian Super Series beating China's Chen Long 22–20, 21–16 in the final, setting an Indian record for entering three consecutive Super Series Finals.[20] At the World Championships, he was defeated in the quarter-final by South Korea's Son Wan-Ho in straight games. At the next Super Series, the Denmark, he won the title defeating Lee Hyun-il of Korea 21–10, 21–5 in the final. Following his good run, Kidambi became the fourth player ever to win four Super Series titles in a year, after he won the French Super Series that followed, defeating Japan's Kenta Nishimoto 21–14, 21–13 in the final. In the process, he equalled the record held by Lee Chong Wei, Lin Dan, and Chen Long. Following the victory, he reached his career-best world ranking of 2.[21]

2018

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Kidambi started 2018 at the India Open as the second seed. He was defeated in the second round by Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin who had qualified from the qualifiers.[22] He also lost in the second round at the All England Open to Chinese player Huang Yuxiang in three games.[23] At the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Kidambi was more successful, winning a gold in the mixed team event, and a silver in the singles event.[24] He achieved the world number 1 ranking for a week during this period.[25] Kidambi lost to Liew Daren 18–21,18–21 at the world championships pre-quarters. Kidambi had a disappointing 2018 Asian Games where in singles he lost in 1st round to Wong Wing Ki 21–23, 19–21 and in the team event after defeating Maldives 3–0 in the 1st round his team suffered a loss to Indonesia in quarterfinals.

2019

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Kidambi represented his country at the South Asian Games in Nepal, and won the gold medal in the team event.[26]

2021

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In 2021, Kidambi reached the finals of World championships becoming the first Indian male badminton player to do so. He lost the final to Loh Kean Yew to win the silver medal.

2022

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Kidambi was part of the Indian men's team for Thomas Cup 2022. The team went on to win the Thomas Cup by beating Indonesia 3–0 in the final, with Kidambi winning his match against Jonatan Christie.[27]

Achievements

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World Championships

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Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2021 Palacio de los Deportes Carolina Marín, Huelva, Spain   Loh Kean Yew 15–21, 20–22   Silver

Commonwealth Games

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Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2018 Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre, Gold Coast, Australia   Lee Chong Wei 21–19, 14–21, 14–21   Silver
2022 National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England   Jason Teh 21–15, 21–18   Bronze

South Asian Games

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Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2016 Multipurpose Hall SAI–SAG Centre, Shillong, India   Prannoy Kumar 11–21, 21–14, 21–6   Gold

Commonwealth Youth Games

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Boys' doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2011 National Sports Centre, Douglas, Isle of Man   Hema Thandarang   Nathan Choi
  Nyl Yakura 		21–14, 15–21, 21–12   Bronze

Mixed doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2011 National Sports Centre, Douglas, Isle of Man   K. Maneesha   Teo Ee Yi
  Chow Mei Kuan 		21–18, 16–21, 8–21   Silver

BWF World Tour (1 runner-up)

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The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[28] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tours are divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.[29]

Men's singles

Year Tournament Level Opponent Score Result
2019 India Open Super 500   Viktor Axelsen 7–21, 20–22   Runner-up

BWF Superseries (6 titles, 1 runner-up)

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The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007,[30] is a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries levels are Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consists of twelve tournaments around the world that have been introduced since 2011.[31] Successful players are invited to the Superseries Finals, which are held at the end of each year.

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2014 China Open   Lin Dan 21–19, 21–17   Winner
2015 India Open   Viktor Axelsen 18–21, 21–13, 21–12   Winner
2017 Singapore Open   B. Sai Praneeth 21–17, 17–21, 12–21   Runner–up
2017 Indonesia Open   Kazumasa Sakai 21–11, 21–19   Winner
2017 Australian Open   Chen Long 22–20, 21–16   Winner
2017 Denmark Open   Lee Hyun-il 21–10, 21–5   Winner
2017 French Open   Kenta Nishimoto 21–14, 21–13   Winner
  BWF World Superseries Premier tournament
  BWF World Superseries tournament

BWF Grand Prix (3 titles, 3 runners-up)

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The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the BWF Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) which was held from 2007 to 2017.

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2013 Thailand Open   Boonsak Ponsana 21–16, 21–12   Winner
2014 India Grand Prix Gold   Xue Song 21–16, 19–21, 13–21   Runner-up
2015 Syed Modi International   Parupalli Kashyap 21–23, 21–23   Runner-up
2015 Swiss Open   Viktor Axelsen 21–15, 12–21, 21–14   Winner
2015 Indonesian Masters   Tommy Sugiarto 21–17, 13–21, 22–24   Runner-up
2016 Syed Modi International   Huang Yuxiang 21–13, 14–21, 21–14   Winner
  BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
  BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series (1 title)

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Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2012 Maldives International   Zulfadli Zulkiffli 13–21, 21–11, 21–16   Winner
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament

Record against selected opponents

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Record against Year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 6 November 2022.[32]

Awards

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Padma awards 2018 announced, MS Dhoni, Sharda Sinha among 85 recipients: Here's complete list". India TV. 25 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Kidambi Srikanth clinches historic silver at BWF World Championships". The Times of India. 19 December 2021. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  3. ^ Dev Sukumar (21 December 2012). "dearbadminton.com".
  4. ^ "Brothers from Guntur create history". The Times of India. 3 October 2012.
  5. ^ Commonwealth Youth Games, 2011
  6. ^ Junior International Championship results
  7. ^ "Maldives International Challenge 2012".
  8. ^ "Thailand Open Grand Prix, 2013". The Times of India. 9 June 2013.
  9. ^ "All India Senior Nationals, Delhi, 2013". The Times of India. 23 December 2013.
  10. ^ IBL, 2013
  11. ^ India Open Grand Prix, 2014
  12. ^ "Malaysian Open, 2014". Deccan Chronicle. 17 January 2014.
  13. ^ "Srikanth Glasgow, 2014".
  14. ^ Rakesh Rao (20 December 2012). "Badminton: Srikanth stuns Ajay Jayaram". The Hindu.
  15. ^ "Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth Win China Open Titles".
  16. ^ "Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth boost their semifinal chances with second win". timesofindia-economictimes. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  17. ^ "Kidambi Srikanth Is the First Ever Indian Man to Win Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold, 2015". Kridangan. 18 March 2015.
  18. ^ "Kidambi Srikanth storms into quarters". SportsCafe.in. 15 August 2016.
  19. ^ Sportswallah Desk (16 April 2017). "sportswallah.com".
  20. ^ "Kidambi Srikanth beats Chen Long to win Australia Open Super Series". The Times of India. 25 June 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  21. ^ "Kidambi Srikanth rises to career-best number two in latest badminton rankings". The Indian Express. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  22. ^ "India Open: Kidambi Srikanth in awe of Zulkarnain's 'unimaginable' retrievals". India Today. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  23. ^ "All England Open 2018: Kidambi Srikanth, Chirag Shetty lash out at 'ridiculous' umpiring after suffering narrow defeats". Firstpost. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  24. ^ "Participants: Srikanth Kidambi". gc2018.com. Gold Coast 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  25. ^ "world number 1 ranking". ChaiBisket. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  26. ^ "South Asian Games 2019: India collect team gold in men's and women's badminton after overcoming Sri Lanka in summit clashes". www.firstpost.com. 2 December 2019. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  27. ^ Chaturvedi, Aditya (16 May 2022). "Srikanth Kidambi, unbeaten and unfazed, leads India to the top of the world". Scroll.in. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  28. ^ Alleyne, Gayle (19 March 2017). "BWF Launches New Events Structure". bwfbadminton.com. Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  29. ^ Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018). "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". bwfbadminton.com. Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  30. ^ "BWF Launches Super Series". Badminton Australia. 15 December 2006. Archived from the original on 6 October 2007.
  31. ^ "Yonex All England Elevated To BWF Premier Super Series Event". www.ibadmintonstore.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  32. ^ "Srikanth Kidambi Profile – Head To Head". bwf.tournamentsoftware.com. Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  33. ^ "5 lakh cash award for Srikanth from Badminton Association of India". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  34. ^ "BAI announces cash award for Srikanth". thehindu.com. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  35. ^ "Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth lift India Open Super Series titles". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 29 March 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  36. ^ "Srikanth beats Sakai to win Indonesia Open Super Series Premier title – Times of India". The Times of India. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  37. ^ "Kidambi Srikanth, Somdev Devvarman receive Padma Shri awards; Padma Bhushan for Dhoni". The Times of India. 21 March 2018.
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