Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth has had a dream 2017 so far, reaching the final in the last three Superseries tournaments and winning two – the Indonesia Open and the Australia Open. That run of form saw him break into the top 10 of the world rankings too.
And now, halfway through 2017, Srikanth is also the top-earner globally for this calendar year, across categories. His recent titles have seen him overtake Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying, the women’s singles world No 1, who has been in stunning form herself this year.
Prior to Singapore Open, where Srikanth reached the final, he had won $16,597.50 on court this year. However, that has jumped to $147,847.50 thanks to his runner-up finish there combined with triumphs at the prestigious BCA Indonesia Open and Australian Open, according to a report on the BWF website.
Among men’s singles athletes, the 24-year-old’s earnings are more than double that of Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei, who trails in second place with $71,300, while China’s Lin Dan is third.
Rio Olympics silver medallist PV Sindhu is the only other Indian in the top 10 across categories, with her earnings of $47,075, putting her seventh on the list of women’s singles players.
Srikanth had dropped out of the top 10 in September last year and was ranked 31st on March 23 this year. After his quarter-final exit at Rio 2016, Srikanth suffered an ankle injury that saw him miss the end of last season. He turned a corner in 2017 and his run started at the Singapore Open Superseries, where he lost to Sai Praneeth in the final. A hat-trick of finals and a 10-match unbeaten streak has seen him rise to the top of the Destination Dubai rankings as well.
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