Coach Mulyo Handoyo finds Srikanth Kidambi's style closest to that of Taufik Hidayat

What's the story?

Srikanth Kidambi might have slipped down the rankings to 30^th from his career-best 3^rd, but he should be delighted to know that the new Indian assistant coach Mulyo Handoyo believes that the former India Open champion has an all-round game that is close to the style of his former pupil, Taufik Hidayat. The highly experienced coach, who has been in India for a couple of months, has already made an assessment of the games of the Indian players and gave his valuable opinion to espn.in.

“In India the player with the style closest to Taufik is Srikanth. He has an all-round game that is the same,” said Handoyo.

In case you didn't know...

Handoyo has been appointed as the assistant to chief national coach Pullela Gopichand on a three-year contract. The highly-rated Indonesian coach was once the mentor of the legendary Taufik Hidayat, who went on to become the World No. 1 as well as an Olympic and world champion.

The heart of the matter

Despite heaping effusive praise on Srikanth, who he thinks he can mould into a world beater, the Indonesian has also pointed out the areas where the 2014 China Open champion does indeed lack in. Handoyo opined that even though Srikanth reminded him of his famous ward, the Guntur-born shuttler doesn’t possess the same power that Hidayat was known for.

Due to the stress fracture in his right ankle that robbed him three months of competitive play last year, Srikanth’s ranking suffered a free fall and he needs a lot of work to get back that mental fortitude. Handoyo emphasised that Srikanth has to work hard to develop that winning mentality again and once he does that, he has it in him to be with anyone at the highest level. Training harder and remaining focused are what Srikanth needs at this stage to return to the top tier again, according to the Indonesian.

What's next?

Srikanth has a blockbuster second round match against the third seed and Olympic bronze medallist Viktor Axelsen at the India Open on Thursday. It is a rematch of the final the two played at this venue two years ago which the Indian won.

Author's take

Handoyo's comments give hope that Srikanth can definitely be the player he once was. With the right guidance and support, he will hopefully soon find that mental strength and start climbing his way back to the top echelons.