HYDERABAD: It was a proud moment for Kidambi Srikanth's family here. Though Srikanth had to rest content with silver, there was no mistaking the pride in their voice as they collectively lauded his feat in Huelva, Spain.
While his brother Nandagopal and mother Radha watched the match in Hyderabad, Srikanth's father KVS Krishna watched it in their Guntur — though the family lives in Hyderabad, he had gone there on some personal work — home, where friends and relatives burst crackers and distributed sweets in celebration.
"Though I am a bit sad that he lost in the final, I am happy that my son is the first Indian to win a men's singles silver at the World championships," Krishna told TOI. "I am satisfied with the way he made a comeback after being down with injury and slump in form. His comeback was remarkable, I hope he does well in future. At the moment, I am more happy than sad," he added.
Nandagopal, who inspired Srikanth to take up badminton, said he never expected his sibling to reach such great heights. "What more can we ask for? It is a great day for us. We are all ecstatic at the moment. When we started, I never thought Srikanth would get this far in his career," Nandu told ToI on Sunday.
Nandu attributed Srikanth's success to his never-say-die attitude. "He is mentally very strong. His character and positive attitude helped him get this far. He always used to surprise me with his positive attitude to every situation, irrespective of whether he wins or loses. Total credit to the way he's carried himself," Nandu added.
Srikanth's coach Pullela Gopichand said that he was confident Srikanth would win a medal at the Worlds. "It's really good that he won a good medal. He's played well through the week. In fact, he was doing well for the last few weeks. I am very happy for him and hope he will play much better in future," said Gopichand.
