Kidambi Srikanth Ranks No. 1 in Latest BWF Rankings: Only Indian Male Badminton Player to Reach The Top Spot!

Mumbai, April 12: Star Indian badminton player Kidambi Srikanth, on Thursday, was officially ranked World No. 1. The Indian shuttler who is in sublime form at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2018, displaced Viktor Axelsen of Denmark from the top spot in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings. The newest world number one in Badminton, Srikanth, went to the top of rankings with a total of 76,895 points in Men’s single category.

Denmark's Viktor lost 1,600 points as he was not able to defend his Malaysian Open title and hence lost the first rank as per the latest BWF rankings. Viktor Axelsen is currently in the second spot with 75,470 points.

With this feat, Kidambi Srikanth is the only Indian male player to clinch the top ranking in the Badminton history. Indian Badminton Coach Pullela Gopichand was quite ecstatic with Srikanth’s achievement. Gopichand said that it was a huge achievement for both, Srikanth and India.

Srikanth, on Thursday, had won his clash against Sri Lankan player Niluka Karunaratne at CWG 2018. The ace shuttler won two straight games 21-10, 21-10, and now have entered the quarter-finals of the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Srikanth’s quarter-finals opponent hasn’t been decided yet.

Will he be able to clinch another Gold medal or not after his glorious performance in the mixed-team event is for time to tell! However, the 25-year-old badminton player has achieved quite a lot in the last couple of years! Kidambi Srikanth’s ascension to the top spot in BWF rankings is a bright spot for Indian sports. We congratulate him and wish him all the luck for his quarter-finals clash at the Commonwealth Games 2018, at Gold Coast.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 12, 2018 01:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).