Hyderabad shuttler stuns top seed Boonsak Ponsana to claim maiden Grand Prix Gold title in Thailand.
Kidambi Srikanth talks less. Instead, he prefers his badminton racquet to do the talking.
The 20-year-old from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, who trains at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad, has been felling higher-ranked shuttlers not only from India but also from overseas.
Srikanth, who upset then World No. 6 Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark in the first round of India Open in New Delhi in April, sent Thailand’s World No. 7 and top-seeded Boonsak Ponsana packing to clinch his maiden Grand Prix Gold title in Bangkok on Sunday.
His win underlined that the future of Indian badminton, especially in singles, is bright. A little over a month ago, PV Sindhu won her first GPG title in Malaysia.
In the men’s singles final of the Thailand Open GPG on Sunday, Srikanth, World No. 61, took only 33 minutes to clinch the title with a 21-16 21-12 victory over Ponsana. It was their first meeting.
“I feel very good,” Srikanth told dna from Bangkok. “The entire tournament went pretty well for me. I did not plan anything for the tournament, just took it one match at a time.”
The reserved shuttler hardly showed his emotions after winning the $9,000 winner’s cheque. Only coach Madhumita Bisht and physio Jonathan were by his side to soak in his victory.
Srikanth, who switched from doubles to singles not long ago, said that beating local star, 31-year-old Ponsana, gave him the most satisfaction. “The win has given me a lot of confidence and I hope to continue this form. I just wanted to attack and put him under pressure (in the final),” Srikanth said. Attack, he did, winning 14 smash winners, and did not give the fancied opponent any freedom.
Srikanth’s next tournament is the Singapore Open Super Series from June 18-23. He was originally scheduled to play in this week’s Indonesia Open but with the qualifying rounds starting on Monday and with no flights available for Jakarta after his Thailand triumph, he is returning home.
His coach in Hyderabad, Pullela Gopichand told this paper that “the victory will do Srikanth’s confidence a world of good”. “To win a Grand Prix Gold is very creditable. He has been pretty consistent over the last few months. It is good for Indian badminton. Not only him, some results in men’s singles have been pretty good in this tournament.
Srikanth’s win will also give others the confidence.”
Srikanth has been making a steady progress. He won the Maldives International Challenge and entered the Macau GPG semifinals last year.
“Srikanth has been showing good results, beating higher ranked Indian players like Ajay Jayaram, RMV Gurusaidutt, Anup Sridhar. He has been making a steady progress and that is good for Indian badminton,” said Gopichand.
Brother too a winner
The Kidambi household had not just one but two reasons to smile on Sunday. Following Srikanth’s triumph in the Thailand Grand Prix Gold in Bangkok, his brother, Nandagopal, 14 months older, won the mixed doubles title at the Maldives International Challenge in Male. Nandagopal and K Maneesha defeated the Korean pair of Dae Sung Kim/ Bo Kyung Oh 21-15 19-21 21-15 in the final.
Know Srikanth
Born: February 7, 1993
Men’s singles ranking: 61
Best ranking: 45 (May 30 to June 5, 2013)
Major achievements
Maldives International Challenge, 2012: Winner
Macau Grand Prix Gold, 2012: Semifinalist
Asian Junior Championships, 2011: Quarterfinalist
World Junior Championships, 2011: Pre-quarterfinalist
Commonwealth Youth Games, 2011: Silver in mixed doubles (with K Maneesha), bronze in men’s doubles with Hema Thandarang.
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