Despite final defeat, Srikanth Kidambi rediscovers the high of playing on Sundays on his pursuit of happiness
If his fans have missed the reflected glory that came with Kidambi Srikanth sauntering to top-tier badminton titles in style, you can imagine how much he yearned for those big Sundays. The loss handed out to him at Malaysia Masters on Sunday was brutal – the shortest final of the five contested at 36 minutes – with Chinese heir apparent Li Shifeng winning 21-11, 21-9. Srikanth was overpowered in his first individual final since the 2021 World Championships. But there was an overwhelming vibe of glee that one of badminton’s most elegant strokemakers was back on the big stage. Prone to being understated, Srikanth did offer a peek into this longing for the glory days. Now, anyone who knows the former World No 1 (back in 2018), would tell you his longing for sporting success is like Mr Darcy pining after Elizabeth Bennet: in vain and utter unbristling silence, he has struggled since his last Tour final in 2019. On Sunday in Kuala Lumpur, Srikanth let on a little. “It’s been a while. There was …
