Kidambi Srikanth Advances to Quarter-Finals at China Masters Super 750

Srikanth's Impressive Victory

Shenzhen, Sep 3: In a remarkable performance, India's Kidambi Srikanth defeated world No. 9 Victor Lai from Canada, securing his place in the men's singles quarter-finals at the China Masters Super 750 badminton tournament on Thursday.

The former world No. 1 and silver medallist from the 2021 World Championships triumphed in straight games, winning 21-18, 21-19 against Lai, who has earned bronze medals at the last two BWF World Championships, at the Shenzhen Arena.

Continuing his strong form in China, Srikanth began the tournament with a solid victory over Chi Yu-jen from Chinese Taipei, ranked 21st in the world, with a score of 21-16, 21-15 in just 35 minutes. He is set to face Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu next, who advanced by defeating world No. 9 Toma Popov in the Round of 16.

Previously, Lai had eliminated Lakshya Sen in the round of 32, paving the way for his match against Srikanth.

This marks Srikanth's second quarter-final appearance this season, following his runner-up finish at the US Open in June.

In other news, Tanvi Sharma was eliminated from the women's singles after a close match against Tomoka Miyazaki, ending India's campaign in that category.

In mixed doubles, the duo of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto faced defeat against Liu Kuang Heng and Hsu Yin-Hui from Taipei.

Later today, the men's doubles team of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will compete against the French pair Cristo Popov and Toma Junior Popov. The world No. 5 Indian duo began their campaign with a convincing 21-11, 21-16 victory over Malaysia's Junaidi Arif and Kang Khai Xing in 40 minutes.

On Wednesday, Devika Sihag was eliminated from the women's singles, losing 21-18, 21-15 to Bulgaria's Kaloyana Nalbantova.

In mixed doubles, Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde were defeated 21-16, 21-18 by Wu Guan Xun and Lee Chia Hsin from Chinese Taipei.