Kidambi Srikanth Reaches Quarter-Finals at Malaysia Masters 2025

In an exciting turn of events at the Malaysia Masters 2025, Kidambi Srikanth has advanced to the quarter-finals after a hard-fought victory against Ireland's Nhat Nguyen. Meanwhile, HS Prannoy and other Indian players faced early exits, leaving Srikanth as the last hope for India in the singles category. The mixed doubles team of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila also made it to the quarter-finals, setting up a challenging match against Chinese competitors. Read on to find out more about the tournament's developments and the performances of Indian players.

By Narendra Chaudhary May 23, 2025, 11:15 IST

Srikanth Advances While Prannoy Exits

Bukit Jalil [Malaysia], May 23: Indian badminton star Kidambi Srikanth has successfully moved into the quarter-finals of the men's singles at the Malaysia Masters 2025 tournament held in Bukit Jalil. Unfortunately, HS Prannoy faced an early exit in the pre-quarterfinals, according to reports from a sports media outlet.

Former world number one Srikanth, currently ranked 65th, fought hard against Ireland's Nhat Nguyen, ultimately securing a victory with scores of 23-21, 21-17 at the Stadium Axiata Arena KL Sports City. The match was a grueling contest that lasted nearly an hour.

Initially, Nhat Nguyen, ranked 33rd globally, took control of the match, leading 11-4 at the first game's midpoint. However, Srikanth turned the tide to clinch a thrilling win.

In the quarter-finals of this BWF Super 500 event, Srikanth will face France's Toma Junior Popov, who triumphed over Indian player Ayush Shetty with scores of 21-13, 21-17 in another round of 16 match.

Additionally, India's Sathish Karunakaran was eliminated after losing 21-14, 21-16 to Christo Popov, Toma's brother and doubles partner.

HS Prannoy, ranked 35th in the world, also concluded his journey at the Malaysia Masters, falling to Japan's Yushi Tanaka, ranked 23rd, with scores of 21-9, 21-18 in a match that lasted 39 minutes.

With these defeats, Srikanth remains the sole Indian singles player competing in this year's Malaysia Masters.

In the women's singles category, none of the Indian players, including two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu, managed to progress past the first round.

On a brighter note, India's mixed doubles team of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila has advanced to the quarter-finals. They secured their spot by defeating France's Lea Palermo and Julien Maio with scores of 21-17, 18-21, 21-15, and will now face China's Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin, who are bronze medalists from the 2023 World Championships.

Meanwhile, Prerana Alvekar and Mrunmayee Deshpande's campaign in women's doubles ended after a loss to Chinese Taipei's Hsu Yin-Hui and Lin Jhih-Yun, who are ranked 17th in the world and seeded eighth.