Ace Indian shuttler, Kidambi Srikant continued his impressive run of form by winning the Australian Open Super Series final against China’s Chen Long. This is his second consecutive Super Series final victory after the shuttler had won the Indonesian Open held earlier in June.
The Chinese shuttler had taken an early lead in the first game with a two point advantage of 19-17. But Srikanth rose to the occasion and made a strong comeback to win the first game 22-20. Srikanth continued his aggressive play style in the second game, taking an early lead. The lead went back-and-forth between the two players until an error from Chen saw Srikanth seize the opportunity and seal the game. Srikanth’s victory took 46 minutes with a final scoreline of 22-20, 21-16.
Prime Minister Modi, while addressing the nation in his ‘Mann ki Baat’ public address, congratulated Srikanth for winning the Open and for making the country proud. The Badminton Association of India also announced a cash reward of Rs. 5 lakhs for Srikanth for winning the Australian Open.
With the win in Australia, Kidambi Srikanth has secured rank two in the Destination Dubai Rankings of the Badminton World Federation. If Srikanth’s form continues, he could be on track to prominently feature in the BWF World Superseries to be held in Dubai later this year.