Kidambi Srikanth back in top 10 of BWF badminton rankings, PV Sindhu static at No. 7
Srikanth, a former world No.1 was out of the top 10 for over two years. He won a historic silver at the 2021 world championships.
Indian badminton player Kidambi Srikanth moved up four places to take the No. 10 spot in the latest BWF World Rankings. This is the first time since November 2019 that Kidambi Srikanth, a former world No. 1, has moved into the top 10 in men’s singles.
Kidambi Srikanth’s boost in rankings came after he won a silver medal at the BWF World Championships 2021 in Huelva, Spain. He also became the first Indian men’s shuttler to play a final at the world championship.
The former world No. 1 was struggling for fitness and form since 2020 and could not make the cut for the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
However, the 28-year-old Srikanth has been rediscovering his form since November 2021, as he finished third at the Indonesia Masters and Hylo Open in Germany before his world championship silver in Spain.
Kidambi Srikanth’s compatriot Lakshya Sen also gained two spots in the latest rankings. He jumped to a career-best world No.17 after clinching bronze at the world championships after losing to Srikanth in the semi-finals.
Another Indian man to make a move was HS Prannoy, who rose six spots to 26th. The 2019 world championship bronze medallist B Sai Praneeth, meanwhile, slipped two spots to 18 after crashing out in the first round of the 2021 world meet.
In women’s singles, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu remained static at seventh. PV Sindhu won bronze at Tokyo 2020 but failed to defend her title at this month’s world championships. Sindhu lost to world No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying in the quarter-finals.
In women’s doubles, Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy climbed up a place to take the 20th spot. Men’s duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, meanwhile, moved down a spot to 10th after their third-round exit at the world championships.
Next, the Indian shuttlers will be seen in action at the India Open 2022 from January 11.
The tournament will be followed by the Syed Modi International Super 300 from January 18 to 23 and the Odisha Open Super 100 from January 25 to 30.