Kidambi Srikanth breaks Saina Nehwal's record, becomes first Indian shuttler to reach 4 Superseries finals in a year

What’s the story?

Kidambi Srikanth created history in Odense, Denmark, on Saturday, as he became the first Indian to make it to four BWF Superseries finals in a calendar year, after defeating Wong Wing Ki Vincent in the semfinal of the 2017 Denmark Open.

In case you didn’t know…

Srikanth has been one of the shining lights of Indian badminton, but his progress was pegged back by niggling injuries a last year. However, he has recovered well from these injuries, to rise back in the BWF men’s singles rankings to the eighth spot this year.

Heart of the matter

The 24-year-old’s victory against Wong takes him to his fourth BWF Super Series final in 2017. No Indian shuttler has ever made it to four Superseries finals before.

Prior to this, the record for most number of Superseries finals reached by Indian shuttler was was shared between Saina Nehwal, who had made it to three Superseries final in a calendar year, on two different occasions.

The first time was in 2010, when she reached the finals of the Singapore Open, Indonesia Open, and the Hong Kong Open, all of which she won. The second occasion was in 2012, when she made it to the finals of the FreOpen, Indonesia Open, and Denmark Open, winning all of them.

What’s next?

Up next, Srikanth will be vying for his third Superseries title this year, as he faces South Korea’s Lee Hyun-il, in the final of the Denmark Open, on Sunday. If the 24-year-old can win in the summit clash on Sunday, he will equal Saina’s record of winning three Superseries titles in a calendar year.

Sportskeeda’s take:

Srikanth’s phenomenal rise bodes well for Indian badminton, which has been on the rise for the last decade or so. However, this is nowhere near the end, as the Indian shuttlers are yet to win at the biggest of all stages, the Olympics, where PV Sindhu came out with a silver medal last year.