Shrikant Kidambi Career Age Biography Net Worth Badminton Player

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Profile Summary

Biography

Shrikant Kidambi’s birthplace is Ravulapalem in Andhra Pradesh In 2001 at Guntur Srikanth Kidambi began playing badminton after watching his older brother. Srikanth was encouraged to play singles rather than doubles at the Pullela Gopichand Academy where his talent was first recognized. As the first Indian man to win a silver medal at the world championships and the No. 1 player in the world rankings Kidambi Srikanth is one of the best badminton players India has ever produced. 

Kidambi is the only Indian to have won the men's title in a Super Series Premier event on the BWF Tour as well as having advanced to the men's singles final of the 2021 badminton world championships. The shuttler made his entry into the badminton world's elite in 2014. To become the first Indian to win a Super Series Premier men's championship the Indian produced a stunning victory over two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan in the China Open final.

Kidambi a former world number one received the Arjuna award in 2015 and the Padma Shri India's fourth-highest civilian honor in 2018. He was the first Indian to play in the men's singles final of a World Championship in 2021.

Age

Srikanth Kidambi’s birthdate is February 7 1993. Srikanth Kidambi was 29 years old as of 2022. Shrikant Kidambi's zodiac sign is Aquarius.

Family

Srikanth Nammalwar Kidambi was born into a Telugu family in Ravulapalem Andhra Pradesh. Shrikant Kidambi’s father KVS Krishna is a landlord and Shrikant Kidambi’s mother Radha stays at home. Shrikant Kidambi’s older brother K. Nandagopal is a badminton player and a junior national champion. They lived together till 2008. Srikanth moved to the Gopichand Academy to pursue his career there after that.

He competes on behalf of India in the singles and doubles divisions. Srikanth held the top spot in the global rankings in April 2018. He comes from a farming family. When they both joined the newly built municipal stadium in Guntur in 2000 Srikanth and his older brother Nandagopal took up badminton. 

Career

Kidambi won the bronze medal in men's doubles and the silver in mixed doubles at the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games in the Isle of Man. At the All-India Junior International Badminton Championship held in Pune he also won the singles and doubles divisions. At the Maldives International Challenge in 2012 Kidambi defeated Malaysia's Zulfadli Zulkiffli the reigning junior world champion to win the men's singles competition.

Kidambi won the men's singles competition at the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold tournament by defeating Boonsak Ponsana the local favorite and eighth-ranked player at the time in straight games. At the All-India Senior National Championships in Delhi that year Kidambi defeated defending champion and Olympian Parupalli Kashyap to win his maiden senior national championship. He also competed with the Awadhe Warriors who placed second in the 2013 Indian Badminton League.

Kidambi placed second in the 2014 India Open Grand Prix Gold competition in Lucknow and advanced to the fourth round of the 2014 Malaysian Open. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow he was a member of the Indian badminton team that advanced to the mixed team semifinals. 

In the same tournament he also advanced to the men's singles quarterfinals. He became the first Indian to win a Super Series Premier men's title in November when he defeated 5-time World Champion and 2-time. Olympic Champion Lin Dan in the final of the 2014 China Open Super Series Premier in straight games (21-19 21-17).

After defeating Taiwan's Chou Tien-Chen in the first round of the Hong Kong Open Super Series he then advanced to the semifinals. In the semifinals he was defeated by Chen Long of China in three games. He qualified for the World Series Finals with those victories. He won over Tommy Sugiarto (21-18 21-13) and Kento Momota (15-21 21-16 21-10) in the group stage of the prestigious BWF Super Series Masters Finals to get to the semifinals where he once more fell to Chen Long of China.

By defeating Viktor Axelsen 21-15 12-21 21-14 at the 2015 Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold Kidambi became the first Indian player to take home the gold medal. He defeated Viktor Axelsen in the India Open Super Series championship match that same year. In the Malaysia Masters Kidambi advanced to the semifinals before falling to Malaysian Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin. The next week he defeated Huang Yuxiang in the championship match to claim the Syed Modi International Badminton Championships Grand Prix Gold title. 

He defeated Prannoy Kumar in the men's singles final to take home two gold medals from the 2016 South Asian Games in the men's team and singles events. Despite his team losing in the semifinal of the 2016 Badminton Asia Team Championship he continued to go undefeated.

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In the men's singles competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro World No. 11 Kidambi advanced by defeating Lino Muoz and Henri Hurskainen. After defeating World No. 5 Jan Jörgensen 21-19 21-19 to advance to the quarterfinals Lin Dan defeated him 6-21 21-11 and 18-21.

When Kidambi and Sai Praneeth became the first Indian pair to ever reach the finals of a ranking event in badminton they made history. Sai Praneeth who is from Hyderabad and is coached by Pullela Gopichand ultimately won the Singapore Super Series by scores of 17-21 21-17 and 21-12.

Kidambi became the first Indian male player to ever win the Indonesia Super Series after defeating Kazumasa Sakai of Japan 21-11 21-19. He went on to defeat Chen Long of China in the Australian Super Series final winning 22-20 21-16 and breaking an Indian record for successive Super Series final appearances. Son Wan-Ho of South Korea defeated him in straight games in the quarterfinals of the World Championships. He won the championship at the next Super Series in Denmark by defeating Lee Hyun-il of Korea 21-10 21-5 in the finale.

After his successful run Kidambi won the following French Super Series by defeating Japan's Kenta Nishimoto 21-14 21-13. This made him the fourth player ever to win four Super Series titles in a single year. He accomplished this by matching the previous records held by Lee Chong Wei Lin Dan and Chen Long. He achieved his best world rating of 2 after the triumph. 

At the India Open Kidambi was the second seed as the year 2018 began. Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin who had advanced from the qualifications beat him in the second round. He also fell to Chinese player Huang Yuxiang in the second round of the All-England Open losing in three games. Kidambi had better results at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games taking home gold in the mixed team competition and silver in the singles competition. 

During this time he attained the world's top position for a week. Liew Daren defeated Kidambi in the pre-quarterfinals of the world championships 18-21 18-21. In the singles competition Kidambi was defeated by Wong Wing Ki in the first round by scores of 21-23 and 19-21 and his team fell to Indonesia in the quarterfinals of the team competition after defeating the Maldives 3-0 in the opening round.

Kidambi represented his nation at the South Asian Games in Nepal where his team took home the gold medal.
Kidambi was the first Indian male badminton player to make it to the World Championship finals in 2021. Silver medallist Loh Kean Yew defeated him in the championship match.

Kidambi was a member of the 2022 Indian men's Thomas Cup team. The team went on to win the Thomas Cup by defeating Indonesia 3-0 in the championship match with Kidambi triumphing over Jonatan Christie.

Net Worth

One of the wealthiest badminton players he has held the top spot in the world rankings since 2018. His net worth is estimated to be 38 crores of rupees. The competition and the financial awards from the competitions he wins are his main sources of income. In the highest-earning categories Srikanth ranks 83rd on the Forbes Magazine List with a salary of Rs. 6.13 crores. The Awade Warriors in the league purchased Srikanth for Rs. 31 lakhs for the 2013 Indian badminton league.

Later when the Awade Warriors again acquired him for Rs. 51 lakhs during the 2016 Indian Badminton League he became the highest-paid badminton player in India. However the Bengaluru Raptors bought the player for Rs. 80 lahks later in the 2018–19 season. The deals the player enters into such as the Rs. 35crores for a 4-year deal with the Chinese giant Li-Ning are his other sources of revenue. Additionally he served as Yonex's brand ambassador from 2016–2018.

Awards

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• The fourth-highest civilian award in India the Padma Shri was given to him by the country's president in 2018.
• He held the top spot in the global rankings at the BWF World Championships in April 2018.
• The second-highest sports honor in India the Arjuna Award (Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games) was given to him in 2015.
• Commonwealth Games in 2018 gold Coast (Mixed team) Gold 
• Commonwealth Games in 2018 gold Coast (Men’s singles) Silver
• Asia Team Championships in 2016 Manila (Men’s team) Bronze
• Asia Team Championships in 2016 Hyderabad (Men’s team) Bronze
• South Asian Games in 2016 Guwahati–Shillong (Men’s team) Gold
• South Asian Games in 2016 Guwahati–Shillong (Men’s singles) Gold
• South Asian Games in 2019 Kathmandu–Pokhara (Men’s team) Gold
• Asian Junior Championships in 2011 Lucknow (Mixed team) Bronze
• Commonwealth Youth Games in 2011 Douglas (Mixed doubles) Silver 
• Commonwealth Youth Games in 2011 Douglas (Boys’ doubles) Bronze

Fun Facts

• In the summit showdown conducted at China Open he defeated his idol Lin Dan (2014).
• Beginning his badminton career in 2008 Srikanth was rated 240 in 2012 before rocketing to the 13th spot in 2013.
• Srikanth underwent intense training at Hyderabad's Pulella Gopichand Badminton Academy in order to improve his ranking.
• After defeating Parupalli Kashyap in the 2013 All-India Senior National Championships Srikanth gained prominence.
• Every athlete treasures the dream of triumphing over a competitor who inspires them. In the summit showdown conducted at the China Open Srikanth defeated his idol Lin Dan (2014).
• Srikanth's ranking rose significantly as a result of Srikanth's impressive victory at the Indonesia Open Super Series Premier. He was able to move up to position two in the World Super Series Destination Dubai Rankings as a result.
• Srikanth has received the Arjuna Award. He was given the honor in 2015.
• Srikanth current supporters for his financial requirements are the Go Sports Foundation.
• Beginning on August 21 Srikanth will compete in Glasgow Scotland for the World Championships.

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