China Masters: Srikanth’s Run Ends in Quarterfinals Against Lee Cheuk Yiu

Kidambi Srikanth’s impressive campaign at the China Masters came to an end on Friday as the Indian shuttler went down 16-21, 16-21 to Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu in the quarterfinals of the BWF Super 750 tournament at the Shenzhen Arena.

The defeat ended Srikanth’s best run at a BWF World Tour Super 750 event or higher in three years. The former World No. 1, however, produced a strong performance throughout the tournament, including a notable upset in the pre-quarterfinals.

Srikanth had entered the quarterfinals after defeating Canadian World No. 9 and recent World Championship bronze medallist Victor Lai 21-18, 21-19. He had earlier made a confident start to the tournament, beating Chinese Taipei’s World No. 21 Chi Yu-jen 21-16, 21-15 in just 35 minutes.

Against Lee, however, Srikanth was unable to maintain the momentum. The Hong Kong shuttler controlled the key phases of both games and closed out the match in straight games.

The result also extended Lee’s dominance in their recent head-to-head battles. Srikanth has now lost his last four encounters against the Hong Kong player. His only victory over Lee came in the opening round of the 2018 India Open.

Satwik-Chirag carry India’s remaining hopes

With Srikanth’s exit, former World No. 1 men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty remain India’s only challenge at the China Masters.

The Indian duo will face Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in the quarterfinals later on Friday, with a place in the semifinals at stake.

Satwik and Chirag booked their quarterfinal spot after surviving a tough battle against France’s Toma Junior Popov and Christo Popov, winning 21-17, 22-24, 21-9.

India’s other campaigns end

India’s women’s singles challenge ended on Thursday when Tanvi Sharma suffered a 21-17, 18-21, 21-16 defeat against Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki.

In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Olympian Tanisha Crasto also bowed out in the second round after losing 21-18, 21-18 to Chinese Taipei’s Liu Kuang-Heng and Hsu Yin-Hui.

With Srikanth now out, all eyes will be on Satwik and Chirag as they look to keep India’s campaign alive at the prestigious Super 750 tournament.