Kidambi Srikanth becomes richest shuttler this year, ahead of Lee Chong Wei, Tai Tzu Ying

New Delhi: Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth has been thoroughly enjoying his purple patch over the last few months. 

He reached finals of the last three Superseries tournaments and won two – the Indonesia Open and the Australia Open. With that, Kidambi made his way into the top 10 of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings last month.

The 24-year-old shuttler's three final appearances took him to the top of the overall prize money standings, surpassing Tai Tzu Ying, the World No 1 women's singles shuttler. Not only that, the Guntur boy is now the top earner globally for this calendar year, across categories.

According to a BWF report, Srikanth had won $16,597.50 on the court this year prior to the Singapore Open, where he reached the final. However, that has jumped to $147,847.50 thanks to his runner-up finish there, combined with triumphs at the prestigious BCA Indonesia Open and Australian Open.

Srikanth's earnings are more than double of those of Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei, who trails at second place with $71,300, while China’s Lin Dan is third with $69,795.

Meanwhile, 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist PV Sindhu – with her earnings of $47,075 –  remains the only other Indian in the top 10 across categories, and is placed seventh on the list of women’s singles players.