Kidambi Srikanth has turned out to be the golden boy of Indian badminton. On Sunday last he became the first Indian to win back-to-back Super Series titles. Srikanth brushed aside Olympic champion Chen Long 22-20, 21-16 to clinch the Australian Open in Sydney. This followed his triumph in the Indonesia Open crown a week earlier. Srikanth, who is now world no11, is set to break into the top 10 when the rankings are next announced.
For Srikanth it proved to be the sixth time lucky. Breaking the frustrating sequence of five defeats in-a-row against Chen Long in the last three years, the Indian finally got over the line with a crushing victory over his nemesis to emerge champion in the Australian Open Super Series. Contrary to expectations, the 46-minute summit clash failed to rise to great heights as Srikanth notched up a straight games 22-20, 21-16 win and broke the jinx against the tall Chinese.
With his maiden triumph Down Under, Srikanth is now the first Indian to win back-to-back Super Series titles. At Jakarta, the 24-year-old had pocketed the Indonesian Open Premier title. He finished runner-up at Singapore to Sai Praneeth in April.
Srikanth, who conceded just one game en route to the title, against World No. 1 Wan Ho Son, in the second round on Thursday, played like a man on a mission at the Sydney Olympic Park. He looked determined as he stepped on to the court and had the self-belief to turn the tables on the reigning Olympic champion. Prior to Sunday's encounter, Srikanth had won just one game against the Rio Games gold medallist and that too came way back in November 2014.
However, the World No 11 avenged those five losses with a sparkling display of controlled aggression and astute tactics, which floored the two-time All England champion. By outgunning the World No 6, Srikanth has now registered his tenth successive win after the loss against compatriot Sai Praneeth in the Singapore Super Series final. In fact, it was Srikanth's 14th win in the last 16 international matches after the early defeat he suffered at the India Open Super Series in New Delhi.
The Guntur lad, a semifinalist in the last edition at Sydney, was the first one to get off the blocks and raced to a 10-6 lead against his rival who seemed a tad sluggish. Long gathered himself and fought back to make it 11-11, but Srikanth did not let the momentum slip and earned his first game point at 20-19. The two-time World Champion managed to save that with a powerful down the line smash, but Srikanth's perseverance fetched him another at 21-20 when the Chinese was foxed by a low backhand return. This time, Srikanth made no mistake and captured the first game, which lasted for 23 minutes.
