Srikanth Kidambi (born 7 February 1993) is an Indian

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

player. A former world no. 1, Kidambi was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

, India's fourth highest civilian award, in 2018. and the

Arjuna award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

in 2015. In 2021, he became the first Indian to reach the World Championship final in the men's singles discipline.

Early life and background

Srikanth

Nammalwar Nammalvar (Tamil: நம்மாழ்வார், lit. 'Our Alvar') was one of the twelve Alvar saints of Tamil Nadu, India, who are known for their affiliation to the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. The verses of the Alvars are compiled ...

Kidambi was born in

Ravulapalem Ravulapalem is a village in Ravulapalem Mandal,Konaseema Konaseema district of Andhra Pradesh. Ravulapalem is the entry point for the lushy green Konaseema Delta region, often called the Kerala of Andhra. Ravulapalem is well known for its Ban ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

on 7 February 1993 to a

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

family. His father, KVS Krishna, is a landlord, and his mother Radha is a house-wife. His older brother K. Nandagopal is also a badminton player and junior national champion with his brother. They used to live in the same house until 2008 and then Srikanth moved to the Gopichand Academy for continuing his practice.

Career

2011

In the

2011 Commonwealth Youth Games The 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games, officially known as the IV Commonwealth Youth Games, and commonly known as Isle Of Man 2011, is a multi-sport event which took place from 7 to 13 September 2011 in the British Crown Dependency of Isle of Man. As ...

in the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

, Kidambi won the bronze medal in men's doubles and silver in mixed doubles. He also emerged as the winner in the singles and doubles category at the All India Junior International Badminton Championship held in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

2012

In 2012, Kidambi overcame the then Junior World Champion

Zulfadli Zulkiffli Zulfadli bin Zulkiffli (born 11 February 1993) is a former Malaysian badminton player. He was the boys' singles gold medalists at the 2011 Asian and World Junior Championships, also at the Commonwealth Youth Games. In 2018, Zulkiffli was fo ...

of Malaysia in the Maldives International Challenge to claim the men's singles title.

2013

In the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold event, Kidambi won the men's singles title, beating then world number eight and local favorite

Boonsak Ponsana Boonsak Ponsana ( th, บุญศักดิ์ พลสนะ; ; born 22 February 1982) is a Thai badminton player. His younger sister Salakjit Ponsana is also part of the Thailand badminton team. He got a Bachelor of Laws from Sri Patum. C ...

in straight games. In the same year, Kidambi beat reigning champion and Olympian

Parupalli Kashyap Parupalli Kashyap (born 8 September 1986) is an Indian badminton player. A former World No.6, he trains at Gopichand Badminton Academy. He was awarded the Arjuna Award by the Government of India in 2012. He created history by reaching the qu ...

in the All India Senior National Championships in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

to claim his first senior national title. He was also part of the

Awadhe Warriors Awadhe Warriors is a badminton team owned by Sahara Adventure Sports Limited a group company of Sahara India for the Premier Badminton League (PBL). The team's home ground is Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium, Lucknow. The team is coached by An ...

team that finished second in the

Indian Badminton League Premier Badminton League (PBL) is a team badminton league operating in India. Sportz & Live Private Limited (Sportzlive) has the rights to operate and execute the Premier Badminton League. The inaugural season of PBL was held from 2 to 17 Janu ...

, 2013.

2014

Kidambi finished runner up at the 2014 India Open Grand Prix Gold event in

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

and was a quarterfinalist in the 2014 Malaysian Open. He was part of the Indian badminton contingent that reached the semi-finals of the mixed team event at the

Commonwealth Games 2014 The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. He also reached the quarter-finals of the men's singles event in the same tournament. In November, he created a major upset in the final of the

2014 China Open Super Series Premier The 2014 China Open will be the eleventh super series tournament of the 2014 BWF Super Series. The tournament will be contested in Fuzhou, China from November 11–16, 2014 with a total purse of $700,000. A qualification will occur to fill fou ...

by beating 5-time World Champion and 2-time Olympic Champion

Lin Dan Lin Dan (born 14 October 1983) is a Chinese former professional badminton player. He is a two-time Olympic champion, five-time World champion, as well as a six-time All England champion. Widely regarded as the greatest badminton player of a ...

in straight games (21–19 21–17), thus becoming the first Indian to win a Super Series Premier men's title. He then reached the semi-finals of the Hong Kong Open Super Series after beating Taiwan's

Chou Tien-chen Chou Tien-chen (Chinese: 周天成; born 8 January 1990) is a Taiwanese badminton player. He became the first local shuttler in 17 years to win the men's singles title of the Chinese Taipei Open in 2016 since Indonesian-born Fung Permadi won i ...

in an early round. He lost to

Chen Long Chen Long (; ; born 18 January 1989), is a Chinese former professional badminton player. He is the 2016 Badminton at the Summer Olympics, Olympic champion, two-time BWF World Championships, World champion, and an Badminton Asia Championships, ...

of China in three games in the semi-finals. With those wins, he was qualified for the World Superseries Finals. He defeated

Kento Momota is a Japanese badminton player. He is known to have a skillful and relentless play style on court. He has won several major badminton tournaments including two World Championships titles, two Asian Championships titles, and one All England t ...

(15–21 21–16 21–10) and

Tommy Sugiarto Tommy Sugiarto (born 31 May 1988) is an Indonesian badminton player who is a singles specialist. He was the bronze medalist at the 2014 World Championships. Sugiarto competed at the 2014 Asian Games and 2016 Summer Olympics. Personal life ...

(21–18 21–13) in the group stage to reach the semi-final of the prestigious BWF Super Series Masters Finals, where he lost again to

of China.

2015

Kidambi became the first Indian man to win gold at the 2015 Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold by defeating

Viktor Axelsen Viktor Axelsen (born 4 January 1994) is a Danish badminton player. He is the 2017 and 2022 World champion and the 2020 Olympic champion. He won the 2010 World Junior Championships, beating South Korea's Kang Ji-wook in the final to become the ...

21–15, 12–21, 21–14. During the same year, he also won the

India Open The India Open is an annual badminton event which has been held in India since 2008 and is a BWF World Tour Super 750 international badminton tournament. Its first three editions were designated as Grand Prix Gold events. In 2011, it was upgr ...

Super Series title by defeating

in the final.

2016

Kidambi reached the semifinal in the

Malaysia Masters The Malaysia Masters, began in 2009, is a badminton tournament at the Super 500 grade, formerly a Grand Prix Gold. The total prize money is now US$350,000, having previously been US$120,000. BWF categorised Malaysia Masters as one of the seven ...

, where he lost to

Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin Iskandar Zulkarnain bin Zainuddin (born 24 May 1991) is a Malaysian badminton player and coach. He represented Malaysia as the third singles in the 2018 Thomas Cup and helped Malaysia qualify for the quarter finals. Iskandar was appointed as ...

of Malaysia in January. The following week, he won the

Syed Modi International Badminton Championships The Syed Modi International Badminton Championships is an international badminton tournament, which is held annually in India. This tournament was introduced to the badminton circuit as a BWF Grand Prix event in 2009. Since then the tournament ...

Grand Prix Gold title, defeating

Huang Yuxiang Huang Yuxiang (; born 25 January 1993) is a Chinese badminton player. He won his first international senior title at the 2016 New Zealand Open. Achievements Asian Junior Championships ''Boys' singles'' BWF Grand Prix (1 title, 3 runner ...

21–13, 14–21, 21–14 in the final. At the

2016 South Asian Games The 2016 South Asian Games, officially the XII South Asian Games, is a major multi-sport event which took place from 5 February to 16 February 2016 in Guwahati and Shillong, India. A total of 2,672 athletes competed in 226 events over 22 sports ...

, he won two gold medals, in men's team and men's singles, defeating

Prannoy Kumar Prannoy Haseena Sunil Kumar (born 17 July 1992), also known as H. S. Prannoy, is an Indian badminton player who currently trains at the Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad. Prannoy originally hails from Thiruvananthapuram and has a ca ...

in the singles final. At the 2016 Badminton Asia Team Championship, although his team lost in the semifinal, he remained undefeated. In the

2016 Rio Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

, the World No. 11 Kidambi entered the Round of 16 of the men's singles by beating

Lino Muñoz Lino Muñoz Mandujano (born 8 February 1991) is a Mexican badminton player. He competed at the Badminton at the 2016 Summer Olympics, 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Achievements Pan American Games ''Men's doubles'' Pan A ...

and

Henri Hurskainen Henri Mikael Hurskainen (born 13 September 1986) is a Swedish badminton player who competed for Sweden at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. Hurskainen has won several gold and silver medals in badminton championships. Hurskainen was born in Emm ...

. He went on to beat World No. 5

Jan Ø. Jørgensen Jan Østergaard Jørgensen (born 31 December 1987) is a Danish retired badminton player who played for SIF (Skovshoved) in the national league. He won the men's singles title at the 2014 European Championships, and was the bronze medalist at the ...

21–19, 21–19 to reach the quarterfinals, but was defeated by

by a score of 6–21, 21–11, and 18–21.

2017

Kidambi and Sai Praneeth created history when they became the first ever Indian pair to enter the finals of a ranking event in Badminton. Both hailing from Hyderabad and being coached by Pullela Gopichand, it was Sai Praneeth who prevailed 17–21, 21–17, 21–12 eventually to clinch the Singapore Super Series title. Kidambi won the Indonesia Super Series beating Japan's

Kazumasa Sakai is a Japanese badminton player who is single specialist. Achievements East Asian Games ''Men's singles'' BWF World Tour The BWF World Tour, announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments ...

21–11, 21–19, thereby becoming the first ever Indian male player to do so. He went on to win the Australian Super Series beating China's

22–20, 21–16 in the final, setting an Indian record for entering three consecutive Super Series Finals. At the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, he was defeated in the quarter-final by South Korea's

Son Wan-Ho Son Wan-ho (Hangul: 손완호; or ; born 17 May 1988) is a South Korean badminton player. He reached a career high as world number 1 in the men's singles in May 2017. He competed at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. He plays primarily defensive ...

in straight games. At the next Super Series, the

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, he won the title defeating

Lee Hyun-il Lee Hyun-il ( ko, 이현일; born 17 April 1980) is a former badminton player from South Korea. He is a former World and Asian Championships bronze medalist, and was part of South Korean team that won the 2003 Sudirman Cup as well the gold medal ...

of Korea 21–10, 21–5 in the final. Following his good run, Kidambi became the fourth player ever to win four Super Series titles in a year, after he won the French Super Series that followed, defeating Japan's Kenta Nishimoto 21–14, 21–13 in the final. In the process, he equalled the record held by

Lee Chong Wei Datuk Lee Chong Wei (; born 21 October 1982) is a Malaysian former badminton player. As a singles player, Lee was ranked first worldwide for 349 weeks, including a 199-week streak from 21 August 2008 to 14 June 2012. He is the fifth Malay ...

, and

. Following the victory, he reached his career-best world

ranking A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of o ...

of 2.

2018

Kidambi started 2018 at the

as the second seed. He was defeated in the second round by

who had qualified from the qualifiers. He also lost in the second round at the All England Open to Chinese player

in three games. At the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, Kidambi was more successful, winning a gold in the mixed team event, and a silver in the singles event. He achieved the world number 1 ranking for a week during this period. Kidambi lost to

Liew Daren Liew Daren (born 6 August 1987) is a Malaysian badminton player. His biggest success to date is having won the 2012 French Open Super Series. He reached a career high ranking of World No.10. He also represented Malaysia competed at the 2010 ...

18-21,18-21 at the

world championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

pre-quarters. Kidambi had a disappointing

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018 or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, was a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 A ...

where in

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

he lost in 1st round to

Wong Wing Ki Vincent Wong Wing Ki (, born Wong Shu Ki (黃書棋); 18 March 1990) is a retired badminton player who represented Hong Kong. Name change Wong Wing Ki was born Wong Shu Ki (黃書棋), but he changed his name when he was 17. "Shu" is homophon ...

21-23,19-21 and in the team event after defeating

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

3-0 in the 1st round his team suffered a loss to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

in quarterfinals.

2019

Kidambi represented his country at the

South Asian Games The South Asian Games (SAG or SA Games), formerly known as the South Asian Federation Games (SAFG or SAF Games), is a quadrennial multi-sport event held among the athletes from South Asia. The governing body of these games is South Asia Olympic C ...

in Nepal, and won the gold medal in the team event.

2021

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, Kidambi reached the finals of

World championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

becoming the first Indian male badminton player to do so. He lost the final to

Loh Kean Yew Loh Kean Yew (; born 26 June 1997) is a Singaporean badminton player. He is the former men's singles world champion, winning the title at the 2021 BWF World Championships, becoming the first Singaporean to achieve this feat. Born in Penang, M ...

to win the silver medal.

2022

Kidambi was part of the Indian men's team for Thomas Cup 2022. The team went on to win the Thomas Cup by beating Indonesia 3-0 in the final, with Kidambi winning his match against

Jonatan Christie Leonardus Jonatan Christie (born 15 September 1997) is an Indonesian badminton player specializing in the singles discipline affiliated with the Tangkas Specs club. He won the men's singles title at the Badminton at the 2017 Southeast Asian Ga ...

Achievements

BWF World Championships

''Men's singles''

Commonwealth Games

''Men's singles''

South Asian Games

''Men's singles''

BWF World Tour (1 runner-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the

Badminton World Federation The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the international governing body for the sport of badminton recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was founded in 1934 as the International Badminton Federation (IBF) with nine member ...

(BWF). The BWF World Tours are divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100. ''Men's singles''

BWF Superseries (6 titles, 1 runner-up)

The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007, is a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the

(BWF). BWF Superseries levels are Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consists of twelve tournaments around the world that have been introduced since 2011. Successful players are invited to the Superseries Finals, which are held at the end of each year. ''Men's singles'' : BWF World Superseries Premier tournament : BWF World Superseries tournament

BWF Grand Prix (3 titles, 3 runners-up)

The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the

BWF Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold BWF may refer to: Sports organisations Badminton * Badminton World Federation, an international governing body for badminton Professional wrestling * Brazilian Wrestling Federation, a Brazilian Professional wrestling promotion. * British Wrestling ...

. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the

(BWF) which was held from 2007 to 2017. ''Men's singles'' : BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament : BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series (1 title)

''Men's singles'' :

BWF International Challenge The BWF International Challenge is a grade 3 and level 1 tournament part of Continental Circuit of BWF tournaments along with International Series (level 2) and Future Series (level 3), sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007. ...

tournament :

BWF International Series The BWF International Series is a grade 3 and level 2 tournament part of Continental Circuit of BWF tournaments along with International Challenge (level 1) and Future Series (level 3), sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007. ...

tournament

Record against selected opponents

Record against Year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 6 November 2022.

Awards

* 500,000 award announced for Kidambi from BAI for 2015 Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold victory. He defeated

in the final 21–15,12–21,21–14. * 500,000 award announced for Kidambi from BAI for

2015 India Super Series The 2015 India Super Series was the second super series tournament of the 2015 BWF Super Series. The tournament took place in Siri Fort Sports Complex, New Delhi, India from 24–29 March 2015 and had a total purse of $275,000. A qualification ...

victory. He defeated

in the final 18–21, 21–13, 21–12. * 500,000 award announced for Kidambi from BAI for

2017 Indonesia Super Series Premier The 2017 Indonesia Super Series Premier was the fifth Super Series tournament of the 2017 BWF Super Series. The tournament took place in Jakarta, Indonesia from 12–18 June 2017 with a total purse of $1,000,000. Venue This tournament was hel ...

victory. He defeated

in the final 21–11, 21–19. * 500,000 award announced for Kidambi from BAI for

2017 Australian Super Series The 2017 Australian Super Series was the sixth Super Series badminton tournament of the 2017 BWF Super Series. The tournament took place in Sydney from 20–25 June 2017 with a total purse of $750,000. Men's singles Seeds Top half Botto ...

victory. He defeated

in the final 22–20, 21–16. * On 21 March 2018, Kidambi received

, India's fourth-highest civilian award from

Ram Nath Kovind Ram Nath Kovind (; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician who served as the 14th President of India from 2017 to 2022. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the second person after K. R. Narayanan, from the Dalit community ...

, the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kidambi, Srikanth 1993 births Living people Telugu people Racket sportspeople from Guntur Indian male badminton players Indian national badminton champions Badminton players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic badminton players of India Badminton players at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Badminton players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Badminton players at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for India Commonwealth Games silver medallists for India Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for India Commonwealth Games medallists in badminton Badminton players at the 2014 Asian Games Badminton players at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for India South Asian Games gold medalists for India South Asian Games medalists in badminton World No. 1 badminton players Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports Recipients of the Arjuna Award