According to the official BWF statistics, Srikanth Kidambi and Priyanshu Rajawat have faced each other just twice on the international circuit before their first-round meeting at the Canada Open Super 300 on Wednesday. On both those occasions, the younger Indian shuttler – often likened to Srikanth for his gameplay – had beaten his senior teammate. And both those wins (at 2023 Australian Open and German Open earlier this year) had come in straight games, with Srikanth only managing a maximum of 14 points. But in Ontario, the former world No 1 showed once more that he has managed to turn things around with his form in recent times, as he managed to beat Priyanshu for the first time with a come-from-behind 18-21, 21-19, 21-14 win in 53 minutes.
If Srikanth vs Priyanshu was a clash of generations, what followed was a battle of the young guns between two former World Junior Championships medal winners. The 2022 silver medallist Sankar Subramanian defeated 2023 bronze medallist – and last week’s winner at US Open – Ayush Shetty 23-21, 21-12. Srikanth’s win against Priyanshu that went all the way to three games lasted just 53 minutes, while Sankar’s win against Ayush in straight games lasted 44 minutes – illustrating how different the contests were.
While it was just the third time they have faced each other on the circuit, they know each other’s game inside out, as they train together in Hyderabad. Priyanshu, like many Indian shutlers, looks up to Srikanth and they were, of course, teammates when India clinched the Thomas Cup title in Bangkok. The 23-year-old Dhar shuttler’s silky movement on court, classy strokeplay at the net, and an overall tendency to play attacking badminton are all traits Srikanth possessed in abundance at his peak. Priyanshu is aware of the comparisons but watching them play, the similarities don’t end there – both are error-prone as well, because their first instinct is always to go for the attack and try to paint the lines on court.
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That was evident right through the match and in the opening game, Priyanshu was having more joy than Srikanth, and took the lead. But after the change of sides, Srikanth started controlling the shuttle better and was generally dictating the rallies, even the ones he lost with those frustrating errors. The former world No 1 nearly paid the price for those mistakes at the backend of Game 2 but eventually held his nerve to force the decider. In Game 3, things were tight at 14-14 but Srikanth raced through from there to win 7 points in a row – including a stunning defensive block at 16-14 – to enter the second round.
Later, Ayush was evidently feeling the effects of his run to the title in Iowa last week, as he found Sankar’s Kento Momotoa-inspired rallying style frustrating right from the word go. As much as he has been working on his defence, Ayush’s first instinct is to attack with his half smashes or dribbles at the net but Sankar was elongating the rallies every chance he got. Ayush fought back mid-game in the opener, but once Sankar took the lead, the second game saw the Mangalore lad steadily lose steam.
