New No. 1 Srikanth has an easy day

Rohit Mahajan

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Tribune News Service

gold coast, April 12

Kidambi Srikanth is barely out of breath as he walks off the court. He’s placid and fresh as if he’s just come off the massage table. But in fact, moments ago, he’d been playing, handing a lesson to Sri Lanka’s national champion, Niluka Karunaratne, in the pre-quarterfinals of the CWG men’s badminton. Karunaratne learnt to play the game from his father; today, it seemed that he was in a ‘wrestling-the-dad’ situation.

The last time the two played, in 2014, Karunaratne took Srikanth to three games; today Srikanth won 21-10 21-10. The scores are markedly different now for good reasons: The 33-year-old Karunaratne has slipped and Srikanth has shot up. Now the gulf between their games is unbridgeable, even unimaginable.  

“He’s got good skills,” says Srikanth. Right, but the Lankan lad has also got a rank of world No. 127. That’s 126 spots lower than Srikanth. Yes, Srikanth is the first Indian man to become world No. 1; the first Indian player to get to No. 1 was Saina Nehwal. P Gopichand’s wards have worked wonders. Srikanth is delighted, but says becoming world No. 1 is just another milestone in his career. It changes nothing. “I’m very happy, of course, and I thank my coaches, especially Gopi sir, for guiding me to this position,” he says. “But it’s just another milestone for me. Top-class badminton is very competitive, and I’d have to work very hard to remain at the top.”

The other day, in the final of the team event, Srikanth had humbled the great Lee Chong Wei. It’s true that Lee Chong isn’t the player he was, say, four years ago, when he was constructing a 4-0 head-to-head advantage over Srikanth; it’s equally true that Srikanth isn’t the player he was when that 0-4 record against Lee Chong was attained. If Lee Chong has been hobbled by age, Srikanth has been powered by newer skills, mental strength, confidence. His crosscourt drop shots, executed with deft feints, are reminiscent of Lee Chong; his diving retrievals, following which he springs to his feet in a flash, are stunning. 

Due to the ease with which he had beaten Lee Chong, the watchers wondered if the great Malaysian was injured or hobbled. But Lee Chong said he was OK, but made helpless by Srikanth’s game, which can leave you breathless.