Hyderabad: A day after attaining the No.1 rank in world badminton, accolades continued to pour in for Srikanth Kidambi, who has celebrated his new status by sailing into the semifinals of the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast on Friday.
Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar spoke to the shuttle ace via his good friend and Badminton Association of Telangana vice-president V. Chamun-deswarnath’s phone. While congratulating the 25-year-old, Sachin recalled he had predicted that Srikanth would be No.1 in the world a couple of years ago, when the two met at Chamundi’s residence in Hyderabad.
Earlier, Sachin wrote on Twitter: “Congratulations, @srikidambi on becoming the World No.1 Badminton player. Proud moment for all Indians. Keep Rising, Keep shining.” Srikanth replied with a “Thank you sir,” accompanied by a blushing emoji.
Former Test cricketer and current BCCI chief selector MSK Prasad, who shares his birthday (April 24) with Tendulkar and also hails from Srikanth’s native of Guntur, joined the Maestro in heaping praise. “My wholehearted congratulations to Kidambi Srikanth for reaching the top of world badminton. It’s a phenomenal achievement for the young lad. I also congratulate (coach) Pullela Gopichand who has put in so much of hardwork behind Srikanth’s success,” he said.
Prasad also revealed that it was Srikanth’s father who guided him to the cricket field. “It’s ironic that Srikanth’s father was instrumental in introducing me to cricket as we were neighbours in Guntur. I take this opportunity to congratulate his Dad too who I used to call Kittu Babai,” MSK added.
