Kidambi Srikanth's historic silver medal will further increase interest in badminton, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday lauded Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth for winning a historic silver medal at the BWF World Championships.

The former world No. 1 Srikanth became the first Indian to win a silver in the men's singles at the badminton world championships, with Prakash Padukone (1983), B Sai Praneeth (2019), and Lakshya Sen (2021) winning a bronze each.

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In the summit clash in Huelva, the Indian was defeated by Singapore's Loh Kean Yew 21-15, 22-20 on Sunday. The final lasted for 43 minutes."Congratulations to @srikidambi for winning a historic Silver Medal. This win will inspire several sportspersons and further interest in badminton," Narendra Modi tweeted.

Coming to the final match, the 12th-seeded Indian came out all guns blazing and took an early 9-3 lead, but Yew bounced back, winning the first game 21-15.

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Srikanth was left with all to do in the second game if he wanted to keep his hopes alive of walking away with a gold medal. Yew carried on with his momentum and he wrapped up the match in straight games.