Vijay Goel recommends Kidambi Srikanth for Padma Shri Award

New Delhi [India], November 1 (ANI): Minister of State (MoS) for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel on Wednesday wrote to Home Minister Rajnath Singh and nominated Indian badminton's new superstar Kidambi Srikanth for the prestigious Padma Shri award.

The last date for Padma nominations had closed on September 15.

Goel in his letter to Rajnath said, "In this scenario, it is imperative to motivate the young sportsman by acknowledging his contribution to this sport in India. He is an idol for the youth of the country and millions of people have aspirations to see his achievements being recognised. Many people have approached me in the capacity of ex-Sports Minister to recommend his name for this year's Padma Shri award."

"Accordingly, in the spirit of reflecting the aspiration of people of India, I recommend name of Shri Srikanth Kidambi for the Padma Shri award," the letter read.

On Sunday, Srikanth continued his rich vein of form as he defeated Japan's Kenta Nishimoto 21-14, 21-13 in the finals of the French Open to become the first Indian and only fourth male shuttler in history to lift four Super Series titles in a calendar year.

Srikanth has been at his menacing form from past few months, having already clinched the Denmark Open Super Series Premier, the Indonesia Open Super Series Premier and Australian Open Super Series earlier this year.

Now, he has overall six Super Series titles to his name, including China Open 2014 and India Open 2015.

Earlier, the Badminton Association of India had also announced a cash reward of Rs 5 Lakh for Srikanth for his French Open Super Series win. (ANI)