India’s ace shuttler Srikanth Kidambi will celebrate his 27th birthday on February 7, 2020 (Friday). Kidambi is regarded as one of the finest badminton player’s the country has ever produced and has a CV to match that claim. He has various medals at junior as well as at the senior level which also includes a gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. So on the occasion of Srikanth Kidambi’s birthday, we take a look at some of the lesser-known facts about him. Kidambi Srikanth and Ashwini Ponnappa Do a Cristiano Ronaldo!

Born in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, Kidambi currently trains at the Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad. The shuttler won his first major medal at the age of 18 during the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games in the Isle of Man, where he won silver in mixed doubles and bronze in the boy’s doubles category. After impressive performances at the youth level, Kidambi continued his fine displays at the senior level as well and in 2015 became the first Indian male to win gold at Swiss Open Grand Prix where he defeated future World No. 1, Viktor Axelsen. In the same year, he defeated the Dane in India Open finals as well.

An impressive 2015 was followed by a much better 2016 as he bagged two gold medals at that year's South Asian Games in men’s singles and team men’s singles categories. In the same year he also won the Syed Modi International Badminton Championships Grand Prix Gold title. In 2017, Kidambi made history as he became the fourth player ever to four Super Series title in a year as he won Indonesia, Australian, Denmark and French Super Series.

Lesser Known Facts About Srikanth Kidambi

  • Kidambi comes from a humble family, his father KVS Krishna is a landlord and mother Radha a house-wife

  • Srikanth’s older brother Nandagopal Kidambi is also a badminton player.

  • Srikanth was ranked 240 in 2012 and in 2013 he jumped to number 13.

  • In 2014 China Open, Srikanth defeated his Idol Loin Dan in the finals

  • In 2015, Srikanth became the first Indian male to win gold at Swiss Open Grand Prix

  • Srikanth Kidami was awarded Arjuna Award in 2015

  • In 2017, Srikanth became the fourth player to win four Superseries titles in a single year

  • Srikanth Kidambi achieved World No.1 ranking in April 2018

  • Kidambi was awarded Padma Shri in 2018

Srikanth Kidambi is one of India’s finest and he achieved the World Number 1 ranking in April 2018 after a brilliant display in that year's Commonwealth Games. He has a total of six BWF Superseries titles and three BWF Grand Prix titles.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 07, 2020 08:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).