Kidambi Srikanth recommended for Padma Shri by former Sports Minister
Kidambi Srikanth, the Indian star shuttler who won back-to-back Super Series titles, has been recommended for the prestigious Padma Shri award by former Sports Minister Vijay Goel. Srikanth has had a phenomenal 2017 so far. With his latest win at the French Open, he became the first Indian and only fourth badminton player to win four Super Series events in a calendar season.
While the deadline for Padma nominations was closed on 15th September, Goel in his letter mentioned that "it is imperative to motivate the young sportsman by acknowledging his contribution to badminton in India."
Kidambi Srikanth reached five Super Series finals this year, winning four of them. The 24-year-old was the runner-up of Singapore Open which he lost to fellow Indian B Sai Praneeth, earlier this April. Later in June he won Indonesia Open and Australia Open, beating Kazumasa Sakai and Chen Long respectively, in the final. Last month, he clinched back-to-back victories at Denmark and French Open.
Apart from four titles in 2017, Srikanth has won two more Super Series in his career. This includes 2014 China Open and 2015 India Open where he beat two of the badminton's best in the finals, Lin Dan and Viktor Axelsen, respectively. Besides Srikanth, only three others- Lin Dan, Chen Long, and Chong Wei, have won four Super Series events in the same season.
Up next for Srikanth in 2017 will be the Nationals early November, followed by China Open, Hong Kong Open, and BWF World Super Series Finals, in December.
