
HYDERABAD: From the very first time he clasped the badminton racquet, he knew he was going to have the time of his life. However, badminton was never the ‘career plan’ — but a slew of wins, World Number 1, and the Arjuna and Padma Shri awards…they were life’s plans for Srikanth Kidambi. Now, the 31-year-old badminton champion — an exemplar of hard work, persistence, and immense passion — is striving to help budding players through his special partnership with Hundred Sports, announced at Taj Deccan, Banjara Hills. After patiently posing with eager fans for pictures, he gives us a window into his world.
Excerpts
How do you feel about your partnership with Hundred Sports?
I am grateful for the opportunity! I get to choose and design the equipment that suits me. As a player, I understand what players really like. Even if I can help 10 players do better with the right equipment, that is a win for me.
How did your love for badminton start?
When I was little, my brother, dad and I would go to a stadium which was five minutes away from home. My brother started playing badminton first, while I would just run around, play, and have fun. But slowly, I started to play with him on my own; if someone had come to me at that point and said, ‘Okay, now run around the field for an hour, do this, do that…’ I would probably have not continued playing the sport. So, growing up, I never saw badminton as a ‘career’ — it was a way to enjoy myself!
What are the notable moments in your career?
Well, wins are certainly notable moments for me! (laughs) Receiving the Arjuna Award and Padma Shri was wonderful too; the feeling of getting an award from the president in the presence of the prime minister, other awardees, and your loved ones is a great feeling.
But there were some hard losses too — I lost in the Singapore Open final in 2017, and that stayed with me for a very long time. I kept thinking, ‘I could have won but I didn’t. Maybe if I did a few things differently, the outcome would have been different.’ But what this did was make me strive to improve my game. Every loss is a lesson.
What changes do you think are required in Indian badminton?
We have many skilled players! However, every time the topic of ‘what do we lack’ comes up, people invariably point to the lack of funding, support, and so on. In the last 15 years, which is how long I’ve been playing for, there has been a huge improvement in everything, right from the kind of shuttles that we are now using to the kind of halls that we can practice in. When I joined the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in 2009, we had just one physio. But today, we have about five or six, which is a great improvement. While basic funding is undoubtedly important, players need to work hard too.
Describe your training routine.
So basically, I do two sessions every day, one in the morning and one in the evening. The morning session is from 9 am to 11.30 am, while the evening session starts at around 4 and goes on for two hours. In between these sessions, there will be lunch and a few breaks. So, it’s not an extremely disciplined routine or anything. It’s simple — for me to actually play well and not injure or tire myself, I need to eat well, eat on time, and get adequate sleep. Over the years, I have gotten a lot of advise and many suggestions; what I’ve done is adopt what suits me the best. Essentially, my day revolves around badminton.
How do you stay motivated?
I tell myself that there are some things I can control and some things I cannot. While I have control over my training, meals, and sleep, I probably do not have so much control on the end result. You either win or lose — all you can do is play your best.
If not a badminton player, what would you have been?
Oh, I never gave it much thought. Probably another Telugu guy who would have gone to the US! (laughs)