“It is the courage to continue that counts,” says Srikanth Kidambi after finishing season

What’s the story?

The India No. 1 men’s singles shuttler, Srikanth Kidambi, who dominated the BWF Superseries circuit this year, could not finish the season the way he would have wanted. All eyes were on the 24-year-old at the recently-concluded World Superseries Finals in Dubai where he returned after a two-month break due to a hamstring injury.

However, he failed to register a win in all three of his group matches and crashed out from the season’s final tournament, having won just one game. No matter how disappointing the finish to his career-best season might have been for the shuttler, the Pullela Gopichand protégé took to Twitter to write a message that oozed determination and a lot of positivity.

In case you didn’t know..

Srikanth had formerly been a semi-finalist at this prestigious season finale. In 2014, he reached the last-four stage on his debut, where his campaign ended at the hands of the eventual champion, Chen Long.

The heart of the matter

Srikanth has won four Superseries titles this year, something no Indian had ever managed to achieve before. With such a dazzling record, he surely hoped to end the brilliant season on a high and he even opted out of a couple of Superseries tournaments just to be fit.

However, things did not work out. It was heartening to see that the World No. 4 did not let it bother him one bit.

The message was simple and clear -- the triple loss could not deter Srikanth. The Guntur-born ace wrote, “Success is not final; Failure is not fatal; It is the courage to continue that counts,” adding that he will come back stronger next year. The shuttler undoubtedly received a lot of encouragement from his fans and well-wishers after posting the tweet.

Success is not final; Failure is not fatal; It is the courage to continue that counts. Thank you everyone for all your wishes and prayers throughout the year and will come back strong next year. pic.twitter.com/ZrvY95aGQQ

— Kidambi Srikanth (@srikidambi) December 16, 2017

What’s next?

Srikanth and all the top Indian players will next be seen in action in the third season of the Premier Badminton League, which kicks off on December 23. On the BWF World Tour, his first tournament in 2018 is the Indonesia Masters, scheduled to be held from January 23-28.

Author’s take

It was evident from Srikanth’s performance that he was lacking his usual sharpness. It could be attributed to his time away from the court.

For a player of Srikanth’s calibre, all he needs is a few tournaments to get back into rhythm. He will surely be back for more in the next year, just like he promised.