Fresh from his back-to-back Super Series title wins at the Denmark Open and the French Open, Kidambi Srikanth is of the opinion that professional badminton has become more open over the years, and the days of domination by players from a single country are over.
“This is the most open era in world badminton now. But, again, the intensity and the standards are always high,” he said, after being felicitated at the Gopi Chand Academy here on Tuesday.
“It is pretty clear that badminton is not dominated by any one player — like Lin Dan or Lee Chong Wei — as was the case till recently,” he said. “I don’t mean it is the end of the era of these greats. But, certainly, they are not unbeatable any more. All that counts is how well you perform on the given day.”
The World No. 2 said that while he was not unduly obsessed with it, going up one more rung would be among his targets. “If you perform consistently you will get there... it will be one of my biggest goals though,” he said.
Srikanth was also awarded ₹6 lakh by IDBI Federal Life Insurance, as part of their ‘Quest for Excellence’ initiative in association with the Pullela Gopi Chand Badminton Academy.
H.S. Prannoy was presented was ₹2 lakh for his semifinal appearance at the French Open, and doubles players Satwik Sai Raj, Sikki Reddy and Pranaav Jerry Chopra ₹1 lakh each.