HYDERABAD: Not too long ago, Kidambi Srikanth was struggling, with his fitness and form. Then came the deluge of exhilarating performances during which he reached the finals of three consecutive Superseries tournaments (grabbed two of them: Indonesia Open, Australia Open) in April-June this year. And now, he has become one of the most successful men’s singles shuttlers in history with his fifth Superseries victory at the Denmark Open on Sunday.
The Pullela Gopichand Academy trainee took just 25 minutes to stifle the challenge by veteran Lee Hyun Il in a one-sided 21-10, 21-5 victory in the final. Dronacharya awardee and veteran coach SM Arif, who had trained players like Gopichand and Jwala Gutta, said the semifinal against World No 1 Viktor Axelsen was an indication of things to come. “When I saw him beat Axelsen, I was sure this boy will lift the title,”
Arif told Express on Monday. Asked what made him so sure, Arif retorted, “Srikanth played a beautiful game. His movement towards the net was good. He mixed his shots perfectly. His power shots were as usual on target. Currently, he is one of the best in the world.”
Come to the final, the 24-year-old Indian was up against an unknown ‘enemy’. Though Lee is a 37-year-old veteran, he cannot be regarded as one of the dangerous players. Srikanth had never faced him and just a night ago the former had defeated World No 2 Son Wan Ho 25-23, 18-21, 21-17. So, how did Srikanth win it so easily? “Fitness recovery might have been the issue for Lee. He has played a match of 92 minutes at his ripe old age of 37. He has been a lovely player, but it was difficult for him to beat Srikanth,” Arif opined.
Indians’ recent performances have been credited to their much-improved fitness levels, a thing brought to reality by the national singles coach from Indonesia, Mulyo Handoyo. “Fitness is a thing that encompasses a lot of other things. The new coach has worked well on them,” Arif said.
Arif exclaimed that the Indian still needs to work on one aspect of his game. “In the World Championship game against Son Wan, Srikanth was deceived by his opponent’s pace. The South Korean deliberately brought down the speed to make Srikanth uncomfortable. He was successful as Srikanth loves to play fast games. If he wants to achieve more, he needs to strike a balance.”
vishal@newindianexpress.com