Picture : Twitter / ANI
Kidambi Srikanth clinched a historic silver medal in the World Badminton Championships after suffering a straight-game defeat to Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the summit clash to notch up the best ever performance by an Indian in the men’s singles. A former world no. 1, Srikanth lost 15-21 20-22 to Malaysia-born opponent in 43 minutes.
The 28-year-old Srikanth thus bettered the feats of legendary Prakash Padukone (bronze in 1983), B Sai Praneeth (bronze in 2019) and Lakshya Sen (bronze in this edition), whom he had beaten in the semifinals on Saturday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted his congratulations
Congratulations to @srikidambi for winning a historic Silver Medal. This win will inspire several sportspersons and further interest in badminton. https://t.co/rxxkBDAwkP
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 20, 2021
The maiden silver also placed Srikanth alongside P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal, who had finished runner-up in the past.
Sindhu had won the coveted gold in 2019, two silver and two bronze, while Saina claimed the silver at the 2015 Jakarta and a bronze at 2017 Glasgow. It is also the first time that India won two medals in men’s singles at the World Championships.
Despite the loss, it is a significant achievement for Srikanth, who has been dogged by fitness issues and lack of form ever since injuring his knee during the 2017 French Open final after claiming four Super Series titles that year.
