Kidambi Srikanth vows to come back stronger after crashing out of Dubai Super Series Finals 2017

What's the story?

Kidambi Srikanth's dream of clinching the 2017 World Super Series title came to a resounding halt as he lost his first two group stage matches, effectively ruling him out of a semifinal berth at the Dubai World Superseries Finals.

The shuttler took to Twitter to express his disappointment but mentioned that he would try to do well to win the last game of the year.

Srikanth was first humbled by Viktor Axelsen in straight sets before his chances of making it to the semis were dashed out after a 21-18,21-18 loss to Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien Tien.

In case you didn't know

Srikanth became India's first ever Super Series Premier Men's title winner when he beat China's Lin Dan in the China Open Series Premier in two straight sets in 2014 which signalled his big entry into the singles scenario.

This year, he created history by becoming the first Indian and the fourth shuttler worldwide, to win four Superseries titles in a single year.

Heart of the Matter

2017 has somewhat turned out to be a massive year for Srikanth, who started off with a title victory in the Singapore Super Series and followed it up with victories in the Indonesia Super Series, Australian Super Series, and the Denmark Super Series before he became only the fourth player in the world to win five Super Series titles in the row with a victory in the French Super Series.

In the Dubai Super Series finals, however, a lot more was expected from the Guntur-born Kidambi, who did not play even close to his lofty standards. While the loss could be attributed to his injury, Kidambi's skill set in terms of the strokes he has in his artillery went missing right through the tournament.

Not the best of performances today. Had my chances in the second but couldn’t finish the game. Will be playing my last match tomorrow of this year and definitely will try to do well to finish the tournament with a win. #teamindia #believe #achieve pic.twitter.com/XWCIvzDdvx

— Kidambi Srikanth (@srikidambi) December 14, 2017

After his loss to Chou Tien, Srikanth posted a heart-felt apology to his fans on Twitter, saying that he will try to end the year with a win in his last match of the tournament against Shi Yuqi.

What's Next?

Probably hurt by the loss more than the injury, Kidambi will look to put more hours into his training ahead of the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games as he prepares for the 2020 Olympics.

Author's Take

For someone with the calibre such as Kidambi Srikanth, it comes as a major surprise that the 24-year-old did not make it to the knockouts. However, with his shoulder injury majorly influencing his game, one can safely bet on the fact that Kidambi will strive hard to be back on top at the next major tournament.