It’s a matter of time before Srikanth becomes number one, claims Sai Praneeth

It’s a matter of time before Srikanth becomes number one, claims Sai Praneeth

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Kidambi Srikanth’s fellow compatriot and regular practice partner B Sai Praneeth has been all praise for the 24-year-old shuttler claiming that he would soon be number one in the BWF rankings. He also stated that 2017 has been Srikanth’s year where he has won a phenomenal four Super Series titles.

Quite interestingly, Kidambi Srikanth’s outstanding year began with a loss against Sai Praneeth in the Singapore Open summit clash in July this year. And the man from Guntur hasn’t looked back since then. He has won four Super Series titles this year, of which he won back-to-back titles twice.  

His fellow player and regular practice partner Praneeth seemed delighted for him and believes that no player has had a better year than Srikanth. Praneeth, who is currently representing PSPB team in the Senior Nationals here at the Divisional Sports Complex, Mankapur, said, “There is no doubt in my mind that 2017 is the year of Srikanth's with four Super Series triumphs. What he has achieved is phenomenal. Winning back-to-back Super Series titles twice in a year is something exceptional.”

Srikanth claimed his career-best No. 2 position recently when the fresh BWF Rankings were released on Thursday. He reached five finals with four titles this year so far with 73,403 points. He is now just 4527 points away from World Champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark, who heads the ranking list.

And Praneeth believes, it is just a matter of time before he reaches the top. “He is now world No. 2 and it's a matter of time when he becomes the world No. 1. He won the Indonesia Open and Australian Open within a span of few days. 

“He repeated the spectacular feat again by capturing the Denmark Open and French Open in successive weeks. He seems to be hungry for more,” Praneeth added.

Srikanth has had some really close games this year but the 24-year-old has always come out on top in the tightest of situations. The one against HS Prannoy in the French Open Super Series semi-final would the latest example.  

"Some of Srikanth's wins are special. He snatched the victories from the jaws of defeat on several occasions this season. Three-game wins against Chinese Shi Yuqi and HS Prannoy in the French Open last month show that he has maintained high level of composure even in crunch situations,” said Praneeth.

“Even at the Denmark Open, his wins against world champion Viktor Axelsen and Korea's Jeon Hyeok Jin were out of this world."

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