It wasn’t exactly a hero’s welcome for Srikanth Kidambi

When Srikanth Kidambi walked out of the arrival lounge at Shamshabad airport on Tuesday morning smiling, there were no posters or placards, no big crowd cheering, clapping and giving him a champion’s welcome that he so deserves. After all, he’s returning home after winning Denmark Open and French Open back to back, becoming the only Indian to have won four super series titles in a single year.

His eyes lit up when he saw the motely crew of family and friends, comprising his father KVS Krishna, mother Radha, elder brother Nandagopal and a few players from Gopichand academy waiting for him. He embraced his parents and was garlanded by them. He had ample time to spend with his family, as no one rushed to him for hugs, selfies or autographs. Even those at the airport failed to recognise the champion. To the question did they expect a big crowd at the airport, Krishana said: “This is the sixth time we are coming to receive our son at the airport travelling all the way from Guntur. Never did we see a big crowd here.”

Though there was a tinge of disappointment in his voice, he continued, with a smile, “... If people were interested they would have come. It’s only of late that shuttle is coming into the mainstream. May be it will take time for the game to find a place in the minds of people, like in the case of cricket. For me though, this is one of the happiest moments and I am proud to be Srikanth’s father.”

When asked the same question, Srikanth shrugged it off saying, “I don’t think Hyderabadis knew that I’m coming. Only very few people knew that I arrive today and whoever knew came. Anyway, we now have so many champions and so many tournaments lined up. My fellow champions are busy preparing for the upcoming matches. I too am looking forward to getting back on court to start training for the upcoming matches.”

ON THE FRENCH OPEN
It was a good tournament. There were quite a few tough matches and I’m really happy with the way I played in crucial situations. I wasn’t really thinking of winning. I went there only to play well and give my best, my 100 per cent. I’m happy with the way I’ve played in the last couple of weeks.
LOW KEY CELEBRATIONS
I think emotions should come naturally, I can’t just act. I am a great fan of Roger Federer and he is my inspiration. So I always want to stay calm and focused, like Federer. I don’t get too much time to celebrate anyway. After Denmark, I had the French Open and now I’ve the nationals. It’s tough to play back to back and not have any time to relax. but I have tournaments lined up, I can stay focused.
IN NO MOOD TO CHASE RANKS
After the injury that I suffered last year, I didn’t expect to do well this year. So I didn’t think too much about the rankings. In fact I don’t want to run behind rankings. I want to play well in tournaments and always remain consistent. I think it’s important to play hard and consistently. Winning consistently will definitely build any sport in any nation. My focus is on playing well.

ON BEATING

PRANNOY

IN THE SEMIS
We are very good friends. Both of us wanted to win (the French Open). Both of us did our best. It was a long match and it’s just 2 points at the end that turned the whole game around. Prannoy played really well. I’ve never seen him play that well and was shocked to see him play so well!
ON BADMINTON"S RISING POPULARITY
I think we — Saina,

Sindhu

, Pranoy and me — have been performing well. in the next couple of years if we can play consistently we can take this sport to another level. we can’t really say that other nations are scared of us yet. We still have to improve a lot. But we can confidently say that we give good competition.

ON MISSING OUT AT THE BWF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
See, every time we go for a tournament we really want to win. Sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t. The way we have been playing in the last eight months is with the aim of winning big titles. Next year, we have commonwealth games and we are all training hard to make our country proud.