Exclusive | Srikanth on Badminton, Brain Fever & World Domination

World badminton’s most successful male player in 2017 is Kidambi Srikanth. It’s hard to imagine that just 12 months ago, Srikanth was out of action after undergoing a surgery on his right leg.

Since making his comeback with the Premier Badminton League in January 2017, Srikanth has been steadily climbed the rankings ladder with the help of two back-to-back titles.

Currently ranked number 3 in the world, Srikanth is training for the year’s final event – the Dubai Super Series. Taking time off his busy schedule, the star shuttler spoke to The Quint about how he began playing badminton and the plans for the future.

Your father was an aspiring cricketer and encouraged both you and your brother (Nanda Gopal) to play cricket. How did you end up taking up badminton?

My brother started playing badminton first. The stadium was five minutes away from home. Nanda used to go there every day and I used to simply follow him. Because I was so young, everyone used to give me a racquet and play with me.

That is how I first started playing the sport. Slowly, it became a kind of hobby for me and a ‘timepass’ routine. My brother also joined the Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad first, in 2008, and I joined in 2009, after around a year-and-a-half later.

What were your early days at the Gopichand Academy like? I heard you weren’t even focused on singles badminton at the start!

I joined the academy as a doubles player first. It was Pullela Gopichand sir’s decision to shift me to singles. He really believed in me.

From that day, I shifted my focus to playing singles, and he really supported me. If he wasn’t there, I wouldn’t have been here.

Not many know this, but you’ve seen some of your darker days also at this academy. In 2014, right before the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, your brother found you unconscious in the bathroom.

I had gone to the doctor complaining of pain a couple of days before I fainted. Even after all the medical tests were conducted, even he could not find out why I was in pain. I thought it could be some kind of minor infection.

(After being diagnosed with brain fever) I was in the ICU for a couple of days, and in the hospital for a week. Two weeks later, I went and played at the Commonwealth Games.

From an injury that kept you out for months to becoming world number 2, how has the climb to the top been? Did the first tournament upon your return, the PBL, where you played many top players at home, help boost your confidence for the year to come?

Last year, I had three tough months. I didn’t really think I would become world number 2 in just 12 months. It was more about recovering from the injury and getting back on court. That was the only aim.

Slowly, I was able to get back to my 100 percent. I was focusing on playing well, and that is it.

I barely trained for a week before the PBL. It was not even a week, to be frank. I took rest for three months and without even practicing for a week, I played PBL. It turned out to be a good tournament for me. With all the home support, I played Viktor (Axelsen) there and I played a couple of international players also.

Because I played them in India, I had the crowd support going my way. So, it was really helpful for me, and luckily, everything fell into place.

Four Super Series titles in 2017; the first Indian to win four Super Series titles in a year; the highest-earning male badminton player of 2017. There’s a lot you have achieved this year. Any win you hold close to your heart?

In 2014, I won the China Open Super Series and became the first Indian to win the premier event. So, every win is definitely precious for me. I won the Indonesia Super Series. Indonesia is a badminton crazy nation. It was so special for me to win there.

It is one of the biggest events we have every year. After I won that tournament, I felt very happy and excited. I just thought I need to do better from here. I’ve done better already but I still need to get better from here.

(This interview was conducted on 22 November 2017 when Kidambi Srikanth was ranked world number 2. After missing the Hong Kong Open, he has dropped to world no 3)