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There is little doubt that Kidambi Srikanth is one of the most talented singles players in the world and has everything in his bag to be the future world champion. Badminton enthusiasts across the globe expect Srikanth along with Japan’s Kento Momota and Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen to take the sport to further heights in the future.Srikanth has already achieved what can be said to be the dream of any modern shuttler-a Superseries Premier title, a Superseries title and Grand Prix Gold title. However, to conquer greater goals, Srikanth can and should learn from the reigning world champion Chen Long.
For years, Chen Long was in the shadow of his illustrious compatriot Lin Dan.But the 2014 World Championships proved to be the turning point in Chen’s career as he defeated Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia to be crowned World champion and mark the beginning of the ‘Dragon’ era.
Chen became only the third player in the history of the sport to defend his title, after beating the same opponent in the final on Sunday at Jakarta. So what makes Chen Long so special and what Srikanth can learn from him?
As the famous saying goes, “It ain’t about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward”,Chen Long has arguably the best defence in the game and that helps him mentally break down his opponent. If Srikanth possess a defence like Chen, he will be able to expand less energy in his offense and construct rallies patiently.
Also, one of the major strengths of Chen Long is the robotic accuracy of his shots which helps him to build the desired pressure on his opponents and makes his attack more effective.Srikanth, at present has an amazing offense but his ‘control’ is an area for improvement that can help him to overcome his opponents during crucial moments of the matches.
Lastly, Chen Long just like his sporting idol, Lin Dan, has supreme belief in his abilities and this is the most important factor in deciding the outcomes when facing tougher opponent at the grandest of stages. Srikanth’s recent defeat to Hu Yun at the World Championships was not what everyone would have expected but with time and age on his side,we can surely expect the Indian to overcome his shortcomings and achieve something big in the future.
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