Former Denmark Open Champ’s Quest for Form that Deserted Him
The paths of two recent Denmark Open champions – Kento Momota and Kidambi Srikanth -- crossed on Thursday; both now in varying stages of self-discovery having slipped from the pinnacle of the game.
· DEV SUKUMAR
Kidambi was riding a wave in 2017. He was in five Superseries finals that season, winning four – including the Denmark Open and French Open on successive weeks.
Momota, king of the circuit in 2018 and 2019, had won the Denmark Open those two years before it all changed for him following his car accident in January 2020. The world champion has made a tentative return, showing flashes of his old self, but has been some way off from the version that dominated the circuit.
Of the two, Kidambi’s is perhaps the more puzzling case, to himself and to followers of the sport. There was no defining moment when his form deserted him. It’s a question to which he has been seeking answers, without much success.