Press Trust of India
New Delhi, August 20: Set to be bestowed with the Arjuna award, ace Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth stated Thursday that the prestigious honour in addition to some encouraging words by legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has made him hungrier to scale new heights.
Srikanth, who created a number of records this season and also broke into the top-5, revealed that he was recently told by Tendulkar that he would become numero uno soon.
“It was a big moment for me to meet him. He is a legend and as a kid I too followed him. He had come to one of my uncle’s place, who is his friend. I met him there,” Srikanth said.
“I didn’t get much time to talk to him but those 5-7 minutes that I spent with him, he told me that I will definitely become the World No. 1 someday, and it was a big thing coming from Tendulkar,” he added.
Asked about him being selected for the Arjuna Award, Srikanth said: “I have been performing really well this year, so I knew I had a chance of getting it, so I was expecting it. It is a big honour for me. This being an Olympic year, it does give an extra motivation to work harder.”