Srikanth Kidambi is all set to become World No. 1 in men’s singles.
Kidambi Srikanth is set to become World No. 1 player once the Badminton World Federation (BWF) releases its weekly ranings this week. With the development, Srikanth will join Saina Nehwal as the only Indian to have achieved the feat.
The 25-year old had missed out on the chance to become No. 1 in the world last year after suffering an injury. He will become the first Indian man to achieve the feat in modern ranking, even though Prakash Padukone was regarded as the top ranking world player when the computerised raning system was not there.
Saina Nehwal remains the only woman shuttler to have taken World No. 1 position and now Srikanth will move to the top of rankings with 76,895 points in men’s singles category to displace current No. 1 and world champion Viktor Axelsen. Here is how the rankings look at the moment on BWF website:
This is how the BWF rankings look right now.
Srikanth played a crucial part in India’s gold-medal winning campaign at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2018 in Gold Coast. Indian badminton team created history on Monday as they won the first-ever gold, beating three-time and defending champions Malaysia 3-1 in the final.
A great win today for team. First ever Gold Medal for team India in Commonweath games.Big congratulations to everyone who’s been part of this wonderful team. Thank you coaches and support staff for your support and guidance. Thank you all the fans for your support. pic.twitter.com/iemHdejD8a
— Kidambi Srikanth (@srikidambi) 9 April 2018
Srikanth, who secured the World No. 2 ranking in November, won four Super Series titles – Indonesia, Australia, Denmark and France last year. The Indian shuttler became only the fourth in the world to achieve that feat.