HYDERABAD: These are glory days for the soon-to-be World number 2 shuttler, Kidambi Srikanth.
Back in Hyderabad after his recent exploits in Europe, where he grabbed two Superseries titles in two weeks (Denmark Open, French Open), the 24-year-old was dubbed the best Indian singles player ever by chief national coach, Pullela Gopichand, in a chat with Express.
"The way Srikanth has performed, I would definitely rate him as the best player India has ever produced. It is very difficult to compare players across both the genders and across eras. But the way he is playing right now and the results he has given, it is nothing short of legendary.
He has achieved what shuttlers like Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei and Chen Long have in the past. And we consider these three players as legends. So, I would rate him as one of the best in world badminton too,"
Gopichand remarked.
He was talking about his ward becoming only the fourth male player in the history of badminton to clinch four Superseries titles in a calendar year.
The way he blazed past the Japanese, Kenta Nishimoto, to lift the French Open trophy without breaking a sweat, was unexpected as Nishimoto had 'slayed' giants like Lee Chong Wei in the tournament.
Asked how his protege was able to 'tame' the in-form Nishimoto, Gopichand replied contently, "It's amazing. His ability to see different angles on court and to remain focused at all times is what helps him. The other thing is his physical prowess to move at a brisk pace across the court."
Informed about the recent 'best-ever Indian' praise his guru had showered on him, Srikanth seemed pleasantly surprised. "He never told me this," he laughed. "It is great to hear something like that from Gopi sir, but I still believe I need to improve a lot and I am working on that," the 24-year-old added.
About 10 months ago Indonesian coach Mulyo Handoyo, who had also coached the legendary Taufik Hidayat, arrived as the national singles coach. Around the same time, Srikanth was trying to make a comeback after suffering a stress fracture in his right ankle soon after the Rio Olympics.
It is with the tweaked training regime that Handoyo introduced and the planning of the physios that the Guntur-lad has been able to make a stupendous comeback. "I think more than anything, the level of hard
work we have put in our training has helped us. Under Mulyo sir, training has got much tougher than before and that has resulted in a changed mindset. I believe that has brought about a lot of positives."
The new training schedule consists of two longer sessions, instead of three in a day. The on-court sessions have also been increased in duration to help elevate athletes' endurance levels.
Talking about the help he received from the physios, Srikanth said, "When I was making a comeback, I was really apprehensive to push myself in the first couple of months. But, slowly I sped things up with the help of the physios. They planned everything and I am really thankful to them for looking out for me."
With so much in his kitty, Srikanth would love some rest, but there is hardly any as he gears up for the nationals in Nagpur that start in a few days. He confirmed his participation on Tuesday.
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