I'm surprised Srikanth is only 21 years old. He came out of nowhere and just won a SS, beating LD on his home turf, just like that. Compare this to Kenichi Tago, who has made it to the final of the SS multiple times but has yet to win one. Once again, in the SS final, Srikanth proved he can play with the best in the world. While he didn't win the SS final, he did very well to get to the semi-finals, earning wins against Kento Momota, Tommy Sugiarto, and just losing out to Jan O. Jorgensen. He also has a deceptive game and he showed it against LD. What Srikanth lacks is experience, but this is the case for all 21 year olds. Against LD, Srikanth was able to read LD and make LD look slow. However, Srikanth was being read by Chen Long yesterday and it got ugly in the second set. Fortunately, he has many years to accumulate the necessary experience so it's just a matter of time. Among the top players in their young twenties, at this point in time, I would put Srikanth ahead of Tian Houwei, Kento Momota, and Victor Axelsen. However, the top of the badminton world is not so easy - Jan O. Jorgensen spent a number of years in his early twenties to mid twenties unable to progress further until he finally managed a few SS wins this year. Look at Kenichi Tago unable to still win a SS to this date. Let's just hope Srikanth stays healthy and manages to progress further. India is making great strides in their badminton program and Srikanth and Saina are showing the results of this progress.
Yes, I am with you. Personally I don't worry too much about Srikanth and Sindhu. The main reason being that they are young and have lots of time ahead of them. I expect that 2015 will be a learning experience for Srikanth. It will be a year of ups and downs, but by the end of the year Srikanth will be more experienced / mature player who can handle the pressure at the highest level and adapt himself. After he beat LD, all cameras are on him. They will be studying him to find his weaknesses. Consequently Srikanth will have to take the next step to stay one step ahead.
I am not sure as to what number and which tournaments a 21 year old, world no. 6 should play. I think experts and his coach must be giving him good advise on that. Experts on this forum can probably throw some light on this. Srikanth has to find fine balance in training, participation in tournament, fitness, travelling, time for his family and time for himself. All this he will be doing for winning and further improving his ranking. Experts can probably tell how many tournaments he should play in each month and what should be the gap between two tournaments.
In spite of his currently high ranking, Srikanth has been entered into these lower tournaments for a specific reason. In very basic terms, it's because he played in these tournaments last year. If he doesn't defend the points he earned from these tournaments, he will actually lose points by NOT participating. I hope this explains it.
Although I immensely like K Srikanth, I'm not a big fan of his game What's more, I'll stick my neck out and say that he will go downhill very soon unless he changes his one-approach-to-everything game to a fluid I-can-adapt-to-anything game. I know this is harsh but I will attribute this current run of success to his newness. Most of his opponents haven't played against him enough times to learn his game's preset structure. For example, Srikanth uses a deeper-than-usual straight smash to get a straight return which he can then kill on his follow-through. Were the smashes less deep, they would be blocked cross-court. It's only a matter of a few games before opponents latch on to that (Chen Long already has it filed away). Viktor Axelsen, PV Sindhu, Kento Momota... these are a few recent examples of 'stars' who haven't been able to manage a consistent showing. Chou Tien Chen too will go this same route. The one thing common to all these players is that they have no Plan B. It's the same game they play at every tournament against every player at every level. However, if Srikanth can modify himself into an 'adapt-and-play' fighter, he will go far.
Thanks sir for your insights. I remember one match when srikanth was playing the veteran Hu Yun @ Singapore open this year where GC and Hans kristian vittinghus were playing. When GC got an opportunity to ask Hans about Srikanth's game , he replied that he did not get a chance to meet him yet and was praising his attacking badminton . And also he mentioned that he did not reach any semifinals yet . But srikanth reached four finals . Singapore open, China open, Hongkong open, Superseries finals etc. Let's hope for the best for this youngster.
What will be Srikanth's ranking after this SSF? Can any one please help on that? I think he will finish in top 5 at the end of the year. I personally think Srikanth is quite promising(as is Sindhu). I think the "adapt and play fighter" mentality comes with experience. After jumping so high in the rankings within a year I don't expect him to become #2 or #1 immediately. But he certainly has shown the potential, and most likely he will eventually get there after some ups and downs.
I meant "GC and Hans kristian vittinghus were playing the role of commentators". Sorry for the mistake.
Yes, Srikanth is the World # 4 now. He was just under Son Wan Ho who slipped right after the SS Finals. Incidentally, we have a new World # 1 - Chen Long
I should have added that India has a double promotion. The World # 4 in both MS and WS are from India - Srikanth and Saina.
It is surprising how detailed and affirmative judgement you make . Even the best of badminton legends such as Morten Frost do not judge a player outside the context of the game he is playing .
i think sri needs some variation in his game and he needs to develop some new shots, this attacking game which he is playing is good but it is energy sapping, also now that his game is exposed to the rest of the world, he desperately needs some variation now. .also physically i think he hasn't yet reached that level. true that he will fall in rankings now and will struggle a little bit which is what happens to almost all the new and upcoming players but he's not going anywhere. .he's here to stay for long.
Indeed. He is such a raw talent. He need to believe himself. If he can beat Lindan in a finals that too in his home town , then he can beat anybody. He has to work hard. Need to be calm and down to earth always as he is now. Now it seems like his game is undergoing some changes. I have seen his match yesterday in live streaming , his match against Lucas corvee in the ongoing swiss open. He is not rushing things as earlier. Let's see, how long it takes to change. No probs in losing to Kento in All England 2015. Last year also, he lost to Kento Momota in the first round of ALL ENGLAND . Later,he had first round loss at swiss open and then first round loss at India open Superseries. That mental thought is keep on running in his mind i guess. He cleared the first hurdle yesterday. Hope to see him in the finals.
srikanth is back at the number four spot in the newly released rankings after a dismal showing at the all england championships. .hope he does well in the swiss grand prix.
That was second round actually. Here is the link of the match.. Srikanth was fantastic in that match. Dieter is not an easy player. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGhU4CyuEuI Srikanth actually lost in the first round last year in this tournament. So, he already gone to 3rd round this year. Hope he does well and reach finals..
Beats Dieter DOMKE, an not easy player, ranks 60 in the world, 21-10, 21-14. Next up is Emil HOIST, ranks 57 in the world, an even tougher opponent.
