New Delhi: Former World No.1 and world championship silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth shared his plans for the 2025 season, saying he is targeting getting back to the Top 25 in the rankings and is focused on performing well in the upcoming tournaments.
Srikanth, who tied the knot with stylist Shravya Varma in Hyderabad last November, didn’t have the best of the seasons last year. He also missed out on an appearance at the Olympics last year. Over the course of 14 tournaments in 2024, he was eliminated in the first round of six events and lost in the second round in three BWF events.
“In 2025 (my goal) would obviously be again to get back to at least the top 20-25 (in rankings) and then try and win tournaments and do the best that is possible,” Srikanth, who is currently ranked 45 in the world, toldIANS.
The former world no.1 didn’t have the best of starts to the 2025 season as he suffered a first round exit from the India Open, Super 750 event, after getting late entry into the main draw following withdrawals of top seed Shi Yuqi of China and eighth seed Anthony Ginting of Indonesia.
However, in the Indonesia Masters, which began on Tuesday, Srikanth suffered a loss in the qualification round at the hands of fellow Indian Ayush Shetty in straight games and failed to make it to the main draw.
Recently, BAI has appointed Malaysian doubles specialist Tan Kim Her to work with the national team. But in the men’s singles, over the past three years, top Indian names like Parupalli Kashyap and RMV Gurusaidutt have shifted to full-time coaching, guiding top men’s singles players such as HS Prannoy, Srikanth, and Priyanshu Rajawat.
Speaking about how beneficial it is to have foreign coaches in the national setup, Srikanth, who hired Indonesia’s Wiempie Mahardi as a personal coach in 2023, said, “So as of now, there are no foreign coaches for men’s singles. There’s only one coach that has come in, Tan Kim Hrr for doubles, but if a foreign coach comes in for men’s singles and if he’s placed at the National Center in Hyderabad, I think it is going to help a lot of players. So, we will have to wait and see when it happens.”
Recently, Hundred, a leading global performance-focused sports brand, announced its partnership with Kidambi, Padma Shri Awardee. Srikanth’s collaboration with Hundred marks a pivotal step in the brand’s mission to strengthen its presence in the Indian badminton market.
The partnership made its official debut at the prestigious Indonesia Masters 2025, reflecting Hundred’s commitment to inspiring and empowering the next generation of badminton enthusiasts.
On his partnership with Hundred, Srikanth said, “Partnership with Hundred is more about giving my inputs and really getting the best equipment through them into the market, and for me personally, because they really have the expertise in producing the equipment.
“As a player, I really understand how a player wants the equipment to be and how they really like it to be, so both of us together, can develop better equipment for badminton players. I am confident that it is going to help me and a lot of other players also.”
(IANS)
