Kidambi Srikanth Biography
Kidambi Srikanth is an Indian badminton player who was born on 7 February of the year 1993. Kidambi, a former world number one, received the Arjuna Award in the year 2015 and the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honour, in the year 2018. Srikanth Kidambi was the first Indian to play in the men’s singles final of a World Championship in the year 2021.
Early Life and Background
On February 7, of the year 1993, Srikanth Nammalwar Kidambi was born to a Telugu family in Ravulapalem, Andhra Pradesh. Srikanth’s mother Radha is a homemaker, and his father KVS Krishna is a landlord. His brother, K. Nandagopal, is a badminton player and junior national champion. Up until the year 2008, Srikanth and his brother were sharing a home. After that, Srikanth shifted to the Gopichand Academy to continue his practice of Badminton.
Badminton Career
In the year 2011, Kidambi won bronze medals in men’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Commonwealth Youth Games in the Isle of Man. Kidambi also won the singles and doubles category at the All India Junior International Badminton Championship in the city of Pune. In the year 2012, Kidambi overcame Junior World Champion Zulfadli Zulkiffli of Malaysia in the Maldives International Challenge to claim the men’s singles title.
In the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold event, Srikanth Kidambi won the men’s singles title, beating Boonsak Ponsana in straight games. In the year 2013, Srikanth Kidambi beat reigning champion and Olympian Parupalli Kashyap in the All India Senior National Championships in Delhi to claim his first senior national title.
Srikanth Kidambi finished runner-up at the India Open Grand Prix Gold event in the year 2014 at Lucknow and was a quarterfinalist in the 2014 Malaysian Open. Srikanth Kidambi was part of the Indian badminton contingent that reached the semi-finals of the mixed team event at the Commonwealth Games of the year 2014 in Glasgow.
In the month of November, Kidambi Srikanth created a major upset in the final of the 2014 China Open Super Series Premier by beating 5-time World Champion and 2-time Olympic Champion Lin Dan in straight games.
In the year 2015, Kidambi became the first Indian man to win gold at the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold and the India Open Super Series title. Srikanth Kidambi reached the semifinal in the Malaysia Masters and won the Syed Modi International Badminton Championships Grand Prix Gold title. At the 2016 South Asian Games, Kidambi Srikanth won two gold medals, in men’s team and men’s singles, defeating Prannoy Kumar in the singles final.
In the 2016 Rio Olympics, Kidambi entered the Round of 16 of the men’s singles by beating Lino Muñoz and Henri Hurskainen. Srikanth Kidambi then beat Jan Ø. Jørgensen to reach the quarterfinals of the Rio Olympics in the year 2016 but was defeated by Lin Dan.
Srikanth Kidambi and Sai Praneeth became the first ever Indian badminton men’s pair to enter the finals of a ranking event in Badminton. They clinched the Singapore Super Series title. Kidambi won the Indonesia Super Series, the Australian Super Series, and the French Super Series, becoming the fourth player ever to win four Super Series titles in a year.
In the year 2018, Kidambi began his career as the second seed at the India Open but was defeated in the second round by Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin and Huang Yuxiang. Srikanth Kidambi won gold in the mixed team event and silver in the singles event at the Commonwealth Games, achieving the world number 1 ranking for a week. Kidambi had a disappointing 2018 Asian Games, losing to Wong Wing Ki in the singles and losing to Indonesia in the team event.
Kidambi represented his country India at the South Asian Games in Nepal and won the gold medal in the team event. In the year 2021, Kidambi became the first Indian male badminton player to reach the finals of the World Championships, losing to Loh Kean Yew to win the silver medal. In the year 2022, Srikanth Kidambi was part of the Indian men’s team for the Thomas Cup, winning the final against Indonesia, with Kidambi winning his match against Jonatan Christie.
Personal Details
Birth name: Srikanth Nammalwar Kidambi
Country: India
Born: 7 February 1993
Age: 30 Years
Birth Place: Ravulapalem, Andhra Pradesh, India
Height: 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight: 73 kg (161 lb)
Handedness: Right
Coach: Pullela Gopichand
Men’s Singles
Career record: 305 wins, 172 losses
Highest ranking: 1 (12 April 2018)
Current ranking: 20 (29 August 2023)
