Year ender 2017: Meet the sports champions

Kidambi Srikanth: Super shuttler
‘Winning hasn't changed me’
The winner of four consecutive Super Series titles, Kidambi Srikanth is the country’s current pin-up boy in the badminton circuit. Reflecting on his eventful year, the shuttler says, “These wins are only making me more responsible, and laying emphasis on staying fit. They definitely keep you charged up and motivated enough to compete.”

He adds, “I need to be more focused because the road ahead is only going to be challenging and tough. People also start to expect more, so I want to improve on myself.”

The ace shuttler shares that winning has not changed him as a person. “I am still the same, I like being with a small group of friends who I am comfortable with. Badminton and life are two different things and I don’t want either one to dominate, so I have learnt to balance both,” he states.

As for in-house competition, Srikanth says, “Competition is good. We train with each other and play with top players often. It helps in raising the bar.” 

H.S. Prannoy: A sterling year
‘2017 has shaped up well for me’
2017 has been a great year for World No. 10 badminton player H.S. Prannoy — he clinched the US Open Grand Prix Gold, got a career-best ranking and is the costliest buy at this year’s Premier Badminton League. “The last 3-4 months have been really great. This year, I was ranked 30 and didn’t really expect to come till 10,” he admits, adding, “A lot of credit for it being a great year for badminton goes to Srikanth and Sindhu who got big wins. Badminton has been in the news all year long, and that’s given a boost to the entire camp.”

Talking about P. Gopichand, the man who most often stays behind the scenes, Prannoy says, “He helps us a lot, and not just with respect to badminton. Whenever we go for matches, he doesn’t really talk much about the game but more about the strategic things about each opponent. On the court, I am a lot more confident as he gives correct inputs and that takes off a lot of pressure, especially in big matches. He tells us that ‘when you win a match, you should forget about it as soon as possible and when you lose, you need to forget about it even faster’!”

P.V. Sindhu: Fit and focused 
‘Learning from my mistakes’
2017 has been a mixed year for Hyderabad shuttler P.V. Sindhu. While she won some major tournaments, she went down fighting hard in a few encounters. Reflecting on the year gone by, she says, “It’s been a fantastic year for Indian badminton. We won several tournaments, which will help us to prepare better for the coming years. Personally too, it’s been a great year and I have been constantly working on my game but there’s always scope for improvement.” She adds, “I’m looking forward to playing next year with the same confidence.”

On the challenge of competing in a few pulsating summit clashes, she shares, “The effort for all the matches is the same, sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. But the key is to remain focused. Things boil down to how you adapt and approach each game.”

Mithali Raj: Leading the way to victory
‘I’ve been very consistent’
Indian women’s cricket shot into prominence in 2017, all thanks to Mithali Raj and her team, who took India to the finals of the 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup. “We won the Women’s Quadrangular Series in South Africa. We also reached the finals of the World Cup — so 2017 has been a very good year for us,” says Mithali.

Personally too, she has had a good year. “I have been very consistent since last year and have been scoring runs,” says the captain of the Indian Women’s Cricket Team.

Describing the busy year ahead of them, Mithali says, “There is a lot of cricket in 2018, starting with our tour of South Africa in January. Then we have Australia and England touring India in March and April. So we are packed with matches, and against very good sides. We also have the T20 World Cup in October.”

Mithali also hopes that more matches are televised, so viewers get to see the women in blue playing. “If important matches are televised, viewership is sure to go up,” she says.

Mohammed Siraj: A dream come true
‘My prayers have been answered’
Mohammed Siraj first played for India in the three-match T20 series against New Zealand in November. Earlier, the 23-year-old fast bowler created a buzz in the IPL after Sunrisers Hyderabad grabbed him for a whopping '2.6 crore! “My dream is to play for India and when I got the call, my joy knew no bounds. My family has sacrificed a lot for me, so I am happy that all our prayers have been answered.”

Siraj describes the experience of sharing the dressing room with top players, especially his favourite, Virat Kohli, as “totally electrifying”. He adds, “The experience of playing against New Zealand and Sri Lanka has given me an insight of how things would be at an international level. I want to carry on the same level of confidence.”