Shezhen: Veteran Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth stunned world No. 9 Victor Lai of Canada in straight games to enter the men's singles quarterfinals of the China Masters Super 750 badminton tournament here on Thursday. The 33-year-old Srikanth, who had reached the US Open Super 300 final earlier this year, rallied his way to notch up an upset 21-18 21-19 win over Lai, who won his second World Championships bronze in New Delhi last month.
"I wasn't really thinking about the score. I was only thinking about what I have been doing throughout the match and what I need to do going forward, that's the only thing I was thinking about," Srikanth said. "He has been playing really well for last 12-14 months but I just feel like it is a new day and if I can play my best, I will have my chances. I wasn't thinking about how he has been playing. I was only thinking about how I should play." A former world No. 1 and 2021 World Championships silver-medallist, Srikanth will face Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu in his next match.
Men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty overcame a mid-match wobble to beat French brothers Christo and Toma Junior Popov 21-15 22-24 21-9 and progress to the quarterfinals. In women's singles, Tanvi Sharma, who won the Taipei Open World Tour Super 300 title recently, showed gumption to fight but imploded at the back end to go down 17-21 21-18 16-21 to world No. 9 Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan in the second round.
India's Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto also bowed out after losing 18-21 18-21 to Chinese Taipei's Liu Kuang Heng and Hsu Yin Hui in mixed doubles.
Satwit-Chirag vs Popov brothers
The Indians were in control from the outset, taking an 11-6 lead at the interval in the opening game. There were hardly any long rallies as Satwik and Chirag kept the exchanges tight. The French pair struggled against the Indians' interceptions and angled returns, with the Popovs repeatedly offering loose lifts that were punished. Satwik and Chirag surged to 18-11 before a return to Toma Junior's hip area left him cramped and earned the Indians seven game points. They eventually sealed the opener with a fortunate net cord. The second game was far more competitive, with the Popovs leading 11-10 at the interval. The Indians moved ahead 18-15, but a wide lift from Satwik and a moment of confusion allowed the French duo to level at 18-18.
The Popov brothers saved two match points before earning a game point at 23-22 and forcing a decider when Chirag's return found the net. Satwik and Chirag responded strongly, racing to a 6-1 lead and taking an 11-5 advantage at the interval. They never looked back, winning a superb 33-shot rally to move to 15-6 before closing out the match comfortably.
PTI
