Srikanth to be No 1 in BWF rankings

NEW DELHI: After leading India to their first badminton mixed team gold at the ongoing Commonwealth Games, come Thursday, Kidambi Srikanth, 25, will be the World No 1 in BWF rankings.

Srikanth, who is No. 2 at present, will pass the current topper, Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen, who has been out of action after an ankle surgery.

Axelsen has 77,130 points and Srikanth 76,895. Axelsen is likely to lose 1,660 points this week, which will see Srikanth at the top when the Badminton World Federation releases the rankings on Thursday. He will be the second Indian male badminton player to top the world. Legendary Prakash Padukone was the first Indian to achieve the feat in 1980, though at the time the rankings were not official.

Titles at the Denmark Open, Swedish Open and the iconic All England had propelled Padukone to world No1 position. More recently, Saina Nehwal achieved the top ranking on April 3, 2015 after winning the India Open at home. “It is a huge achievement for Srikanth and for Indian badminton,” chief national coach Pullela Gopichand said from Gold Coast, Australia. “There has been lot of talk about the women doing well but now we will have a men’s No.1.

“It will help Srikanth become more relaxed.”

Whatever happens from here, he will always know that he was world No. 1, that he has accomplished one goal in his career. It will help him focus more on winning tournaments.”

Gopichand is the last Indian to win an All England singles title, in 2001. His career-best was fifth in the world rankings. Srikanth followed his elder brother to Gopichand’s academy in Hyderabad in 2008. Initially he was a doubles player but shifted to singles.