Shortly after his latest triumph Down Under, he responded in minutes to a congratulatory message from coach Palanki Udaya Bhaskar Babu. At the turn of the decade, Babu used to engage a young Srikanth and Sourabh Verma as sparring partners for Saina Nehwal, then soaring high in the sport. “Srikanth attacked a lot, which proved quite advantageous for Saina,” the ex-SAI coach told The Hindu. “Srikanth’s attacking style called for a lot of endurance and the experienced trainer had secretly nursed doubts about how long he would last the grind in a gruelling game. Over time, the budding badminton star watched, learned and wondered why he couldn’t achieve as much as his peers did.”How would Babu explain Srikanth’s transformation from mild-manned gent off-court to aggressive combatant on it?

Source: The Hindu June 27, 2017 17:03 UTC