Kolkata: Ace Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth extended his stellar run of form to become the first Indian male shuttler to win two consecutive Super Series titles after he won the Australian Open Super Series and etched his name in the history of Indian badminton.
And to celebrate this historic moment Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma and Badminton Association of India president has announced a cash reward of 5 lakhs for Srikanth, who not only won his fourth superseries title but also also became the only sixth badminton player in the world to make it to three consecutive superseries finals on the trot.
In the final on Sunday, he was up against the current Olympic champion Chen Long of China and the Gunter Lad was in supreme best against the World No. 6 and won the match 22-20, 21-16 in a rather comfortable manner
“We are really very proud of Srikanth for his achievements. It is simply phenomenal. He has not only made the whole country proud once again but has etched his name among the best and no word would be enough to praise Srikanth,” Dr. Sarma, BAI said in a statement quoting him as saying Reiterating President’s views Anup Narang official spokesperson and Secretary General of BAI further added, “It is indeed a very huge achievement for Srikanth and Indian badminton. The entire BAI is in a jubilant mood and I am sure so is the badminton fans across the country.” Apart from Srikanth, performances of other Indian players at the Australian Open Superseries were also great as Sai Praneeth, PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal all made it to the quarterfinals of the tournament.
