Srikanth Kidambi Quick Info | |
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Height | 5 ft 10 in |
Weight | 73 kg |
Date of Birth | February 7, 1993 |
Zodiac Sign | Aquarius |
Eye Color | Dark Brown |
Srikanth Kidambi is an Indian professional badminton player who had created history in December 2021 when he had become the first Indian player ever to have reached the final of the BWF (Badminton World Federation) World Championships in the men’s singles event. As of December 2021, he had won 1 BWF International Challenge/Series title – the 2012 Maldives International; 3 BWF Grand Prix titles – the 2013 Thailand Open, the 2015 Swiss Open, and the 2016 Syed Modi International; and 6 BWF Superseries titles – the 2014 China Open, the 2015 India Open, the 2017 Indonesia Open, the 2017 Australian Open, the 2017 Denmark Open, and the 2017 French Open. In April 2018, for a brief while, he had reached the world’s number one position in the official BWF men’s singles rankings. For his services to the sport, the Government of India honored him with the Arjuna Award (the 2nd-highest sporting honor in India) in 2015; and the Padma Shri (India’s fourth-highest civilian award) in 2018. He was an integral member of the Indian squad that had won the ‘Gold’ medal at the Thomas Cup (an international biennial badminton competition among men’s teams representing member nations of the BWF (Badminton World Federation), the sport’s global governing body) for the 1st time in history, in May 2022. India had become just the 6th country to lift the prestigious title after Indonesia (14 titles), China (10), Malaysia (5), Denmark (1), and Japan (1).
Born Name
Srikanth Nammalwar Kidambi
Nick Name
Sri
Sun Sign
Aquarius
Born Place
Ravulapalem, East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh, India
Residence
Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Nationality
Occupation
Professional Badminton Player
Family
- Father – KVS Krishna (Landlord)
- Mother – Radha
- Siblings – Nandagopal Kidambi (Older Brother) (Professional Badminton Player)
Manager
He is represented by Baseline Ventures, Sports Marketing, Entertainment & Brand Licensing Company, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Plays
Right-Handed
Build
Athletic
Height
5 ft 10 in or 178 cm
Weight
73 kg or 161 lbs
Race / Ethnicity
Asian (Indian)
Hair Color
Black
Eye Color
Dark Brown
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
- Toned physique
- Short-cropped, side-parted hair
- Affable smile
- Sports a thick beard
Srikanth Kidambi Facts
- Srikanth had first come into the spotlight when he had won a ‘Bronze’ medal at the 2011 Lucknow Badminton Asia Junior Championships in the mixed team event. The same year, he had won the ‘Silver’ medal in the mixed doubles event and the ‘Bronze’ medal in the boys’ doubles event at the Douglas Commonwealth Youth Games.
- In November 2014, he had shocked the badminton world by defeating 5 times World Champion and 2 times Olympic Champion Lin Dan in the final of the 2014 China Open Super Series Premier tournament. He had defeated the Chinese superstar in a closely fought battle but had eventually managed to seal the deal in straight sets. The final scoreline in the match was 21–19, 21–17. This feat had made him the first Indian player ever to win a Super Series Premier men’s title.
- At the 2016 Guwahati–Shillong South Asian Games, he had won the ‘Gold’ medal in both the men’s singles and the men’s team events. At the 2019 edition of the tournament, he had again won the ‘Gold’ medal in the men’s team event.
- At the Badminton Asia Team Championships, he had won the ‘Bronze’ medal in the men’s team event in both 2016 and 2020.
- In 2017, by beating Japan’s Kazumasa Sakai by a score of 21–11, 21–19, he had become the first Indian male player to have won the Indonesia Super Series title. When he won the Australian Super Series title later that year, he had become the first Indian player to have entered the final of 3 Super Series events/tournaments in a row.
- At the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, he had won the ‘Gold’ medal in the mixed team event and the ‘Silver’ medal in the men’s singles event.
- In May 2022, during the group stage of the Thomas Cup, he had won his singles match against both Germany and Canada in 3 sets as India went on to sweep both those rubbers by a margin of 5-0. In India’s last group stage match, against Taiwan (competing under the name ‘Chinese Taipei’), Srikanth had won his singles match but it was not enough to prevent a 3-2 defeat as the team ended the group stage in the 2nd position.
- In the quarter-final of the tournament, against 5-time champions, Malaysia, the score was tied 1-1 after 2 matches (1 singles and 1 doubles). Srikanth won the 3rd (singles) match of the rubber easily (21-11, 21-17) to help India lead by a 2-1 margin. After a defeat for India in the 4th match of the rubber (doubles), Prannoy H. S. won the last singles match of the rubber easily (21-13, 21-8) to help India prevail by a 3-2 margin.
- In the semi-final, against former champions Denmark, the script was identical and Srikanth won the 3rd (singles) match of the rubber (21-18, 12-21, 21-15) to help India lead by a 2-1 margin. After a defeat for India in the 4th match of the rubber (doubles), Prannoy stepped up again to conjure a victory in the decider. Although he lost the first game (13-21), he held his composure to breeze through the next 2 games (21-9, 21-12) to help India reach the final match of the Thomas Cup for the first time in history.
- In the final of the 2022 Thomas Cup, against hot favorites and 14-time champions Indonesia, India, for a change, and rather surprisingly, won the opening singles match to lead the rubber by 1-0. The advantage was driven home by the pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty who won their doubles match by a score of 18-21, 23-21, 21-19, in a nail-biting encounter. Srikanth then won his singles match in straight sets to secure a 3-0 win and script a golden chapter in the annals of Indian sporting history.
- At the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, he won the ‘Silver’ medal in the mixed team event and the ‘Bronze’ medal in the men’s singles event.
Featured Image by Srikanth Kidambi / Instagram