Syed Modi International 2025: Former World No. 1 Srikanth determined to fight his way back to the top
A World No. 1 at one point in time is not even the highest-ranked Indian now — a fact Kidambi Srikanth is coming to terms with.
With an injury lay-off for more than four months last year, followed by an extended break for marriage, the 32-year-old has struggled for both form and fortune.
But he is on course for a rebuild, taking one match at a time.
On his return to the Syed Modi India international here this time around, he insisted that even a comprehensive victory in the opening round against compatriot Kavin Thangam was not an easy outing.
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“It was the first match, but not an easy one. Everything worked well, but I don’t think there are any easy games. I’m not really thinking too far into the tournament,” Srikanth told Sportstar.
The circumspection is understandable. He had lost in the first round here in 2023 and has had widely varying fortunes so far this year – failing to even qualify at Super 500 events in Indonesia and Thailand and then going all the way to the final as a qualifier in Malaysia only a week later.
Srikanth, who went down to as low as 82nd in May this year before clawing his way back up, admitted it was not easy.
“You know, the new BWF points system is kind of a little complicated. And once you drop in rankings, it is very tough to get back because there are no qualifiers for the Super 1000s and 750s, and those are the tournaments that give you the maximum points.
“Keeping that in mind, this tournament is really important; a good performance here is what will take me a little closer to entering those 750s and 1000s,” Srikanth said.
In the long term, he still has the Asian Games next year on his radar but for now, he believes in doing the hard yards in the present.
His injury at the Singapore Open (a Super 750 event) in May last year has meant the India Open this year is the only event of that level he has participated in since then, and the results haven’t been too impressive even in lower-level tournaments.
His search for every crucial ranking point has taken him to a couple of Super 100 events, the lowest tier on the BWF World Tour, and he is considering participating in the Odisha Masters next month.
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“In the current BWF calendar, there is no beginning or end of season any more. Odisha probably ends around December 15, then the first tournament of next year (Malaysia Open, a Super 750 event) starts January 6. For me, it’s just about playing well and then, if I can really get into Malaysia, I’ll obviously play there. Otherwise, I’ll just see,” he said.
But the man is ready to fight to regain what he’s lost.
“Ideally, I would not really want to play 100-300. I really want myself to be in the 750s and 1000s. I really don’t want to go down again from here. I only want to go up,” he added.
Published on Nov 27, 2025