How an elementary lesson helped old-master Kidambi Srikanth wriggle out of tight corner

Lost in the dazzling whirl of his breathtaking stroke-play was a ‘basic of the game’ that Kidambi Srikanth seems to have revisited of late. Catching the shuttle higher at the net, is what coaches drill into 13-year-olds. Srikanth, soon-to-turn 31, revised that elementary lesson on court to record a 12-21, 21-18, 21-16 victory over sixth seed Jonatan Christie at Kuala Lumpur.

Dubbed a washed-up talent, with 10 blink-and-miss first round exits to match the whole of last year, Srikanth lined up against Indonesian World No 5 Christie on Tuesday at the Super 1000 Malaysia Open. He lost the opener 12-21, playing from the less-preferred side, and was 7-11 and 15-17 down in the second, with another loss loading.

All this time, he had been attempting – in Srikanthesque fashion – the most complicated sharp shots from below the net, that Christie was pouncing on with glee even while playing from the disadvantageous side. At 7-11, coach P Kashyap started yelling out to him what 13-year-olds are told – to keep the racquet up and not drop it down defensively.

Srikanth, the 2016 Olympian, approached Kashyap, the 2012 Olympian around the time of China Open asking if he would coach in his corner while the latter took up the responsibility of a bunch of u19s and u17s assigned by Pullela Gopichand. (File)

The coach was thinking ahead to the next 5-6 times Christie would need to play Srikanth this year, and how a tame capitulation would fill the Indonesian with confidence. Sow a seed of doubt or two, even if the match looked a goner. For the preparation that has gone in, he expected Srikanth to drag this season-opener into a decider, nothing more. But Srikanth went the distance. On points, 11, 12 and 13 of the second, Srikanth would bring out the aggressive attitude, going for the shuttle nicely high and early at the net, to ambush Christie.

The World No 24 from Guntur would grit out the midcourt rallies and start pinning Christie towards baseline, denying him leverage at the net. There was a wonderful backhand deception at 14-14, and a reflex defensive round the head recovery over his left shoulder, at a stubborn juncture of 15-17. At 17-18 when he hit a smash into the top net, all Srikanth nightmares resurfaced. But taking 7 of the last 8 points of Set 2, with high racquet shots, he fought out the tosses and pushed the decider.

Srikanth’s stamina for the third was untested, but he was game for a fight even after trailing 0-5 and 9-14 in the decider. At 2-5 in a single rally, he pulled out another round-the-head scramble defense and a weaving hip-level reflex, as defensive solidity paved the way to attacking confidence.

Then taking 6 straight points from 8-14 down, with a fantastic reverse slice push, he sowed the doubt in Christie’s head, puncturing his confidence. Srikanth in fact ended up with 11 of the 12 points from the 9-14 juncture.

The Indonesian is one of the strongest returners from the forehand back corner. But Srikanth had him stuttering there on the back-running lunge. Perhaps the most dogged of points came at 18-15, in 32-shots, where patience that has eluded him all his life, and refusal to give in gleamed from the frenzied exchanges and he out-rallied Christie. He was willing to fight off the impulse to be impetuous and win with basics. He would eventually down the Top 5 opponent, to start off the year on an optimistic note.

No one is rekindling Olympic qualification dreams just yet – that’s still HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen territory. And Tuesday’s match could just as easily have flipped the other way. But Srikanth looks on
the mend, a month after he went out in Round 1 disappointingly at Syed Modi Lucknow.

The long haul back

Srikanth, the 2016 Olympian, approached Kashyap, the 2012 Olympian around the time of China Open asking if he would coach in his corner while the latter took up the responsibility of a bunch of u19s and u17s assigned by Pullela Gopichand. “It had been a tough year for him. While Asian Games was good for the team, in individuals, Srikanth was capable of much more. He immediately asked me when I started. He’s just very coachable, doesn’t say no to training, and we started off,” Kashyap recalls.

Small niggles nagged. The long years on the circuit since 2013 had seen him lose track of some basics. There were a bunch of bad career choices Srikanth had made, some stubborn calls, some rank bad decisions, which Kashyap says happen with everyone, but need stemming. In a qualification flux, time always seems racing against you, and he was not upto the mark at Syed Modi. “Sometimes you have to back off from running the race and focus on basic things that help you win matches instead of waiting to find a lucky run with good draws,” the coach says.

A few immediate tweaks worked against Christie, who’s had a fine backend of 2023, but most changes take time to yield results. Tuesday’s third set showing hints at improving fitness, and the biggest change over the last 8 weeks has been higher-intensity training sessions.

Srikanth’s sparring quality has improved, his timing on strokes is up too, though shot selection needed the biggest work – both choosing the best shots, and eschewing the ones that played into the hands of opponents, the likes that Srikanth is notorious for.

Kashyap has drilled into Srikanth that experience can only take him this far, and he will still need to put in the physical work to match step with much younger opponents. “It’s not easy as age catches up. The game is there but we are working on a thin line. Match intensity and stamina can be 5x practice. The belief comes with improved stamina,” he says.

In Kashyap, working in tow with Gopichand, Srikanth now has a deep-thinking coaching team by his side, invested in watching him win. “Srikanth isn’t much of a deep thinker himself. He has an open mind to suggestions and listens to what we say. He’s like Saina that way,” he says.

“He’s made some bad choices. Otherwise it’s unthinkable that a guy who played so well in 2017 didn’t qualify for the Olympics! I’m saying all these negative things about him but he’s still a Thomas Cup champion, a World Championship and Asian Games silver medallist and many time Super Series winner. There’s still big potential in him to dominate. He’s 31 and can definitely turn it around and qualify for the Olympics. Just that one win is too soon to say. But he definitely has 2-3 years of top-top level badminton in him,” Kashyap says.

Srikanth next plays Ng Ka Long Angus, and has Axelsen in his path in quarters. The sporting world is desperate to move onto Lakshya Sen and Priyanshu Rajawat. They are also quick to tag him an under achiever, for the sheer talent he once possessed but didn’t encash. Though it’s difficult to dismiss the reality that India’s men’s singles players typically peak late. Against Christie, whom he’s beaten the last three times, Srikanth showed he still can fight it out. Future success is no guarantee though, unless his training intensity hits another gear, even while keeping injuries at bay.

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