HYDERABAD: It is safe to say that Guntur lad Kidambi Srikanth is in the form of his life. The world number four keeps churning out one Superseries win after the other. On Sunday, he registered his second back-to-back tournament win of the year when he downed Japanese qualifier Kenta Nishimoto 21-14, 21-13 to lift the French Open Superseries trophy.
In doing so, the 24-year-old became the fourth male shuttler to win four singles Superseries titles in a calendar year. Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei and Chen Long are the only other ones to do the same. He is also the first Indian to grab as many Superseries trophies in a year. He surpassed Saina Nehwal's record of three titles.
It turned out to be a smash-fest as the aggressive Indian player repeatedly made things difficult for his opponent with his swift shots. The encounter lasted only 35 minutes and proved to be a walk in the park for Srikanth, who probably struggled only once while trailing 5-9 in the first game. Elder brother Kidambi Nandagopal, who is a doubles specialist, said that a renewed sense of aggressiveness had done Srikanth a world of good.
"It is well-known that he is an attacking player. This year he has elevated his aggressive style of play. He is a lot of confidence now and believes in himself," Nandagopal told Express.
Srikanth's improved defense was also on full display as he countered Nishimoto's attacking shots with aplomb. Renowned coach SM Arif was of the opinion that Srikanth is playing the best badminton of his liffe.' "And I have repeatedly emphasised, it is due to the Indonesian coach Mulyo Handoyo's fitness regime that players like Srikanth have improved so much," opined Arif.
A day before the summit clash, the world number four had said that Indians are physically much more stronger than other players. Of late, the Japanese shuttlers have been playing some stupendous badminton too. Arif stated the same reason for their advent in world badminton.
"The training that they have been undergoing is very stringent. Just like the Indians, they have been concentrating on this aspect."
Exactly a year ago, the Pullela Gopichand Academy trainee (who is set to reach his career-high BWF ranking of world number two) was frustrated since had missed a lot of tournaments due to the right ankle stress fracture.
"He was upset during this time last year. He had to skip so many good tournaments," Nandagopal recalled.
Well, Srikanth seems to have made up for the time lost due to the injury by winning Indonesia Open, Australia Open, Denmark Open and French Open.
And with four more Superseries championships left in the year, who knows how this youngster will change history this year.
vishal@newindianexpress.com