Kidambi Srikanth loses to Lee Cheuk Yiu in China Masters quarterfinals

Kidambi Srikanth’s China Masters campaign ended in the quarterfinals after he lost 16-21, 16-21 to Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu. It was Srikanth’s first Super 750 quarterfinal appearance in three years, while Satwik-Chirag remained India’s final challenge.

Shenzhen: Kidambi Srikanth’s campaign at the China Masters, a BWF Super 750 tournament, ended after losing to Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong in the quarterfinals here on Friday.

Srikanth suffered a 16-21, 16-21 loss at the hands of Lee at the Shenzhen Arena. It was Srikanth’s first quarterfinal appearance at a BWF World Tour Super 750 event or above in three years.

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Lee’s lead in their head-to-head record was also increased as a result of the defeat, as Srikanth has now lost their last four matches in a row with Lee. In the first round of the 2018 India Open, he was victorious over the Hong Kong player for the only time in his career.

In the pre-quarters, Srikanth pulled off a stunning upset over Canadian World No. 9 and recent World Championship bronze medallist Victor Lai, winning 21-18, 21-19. He had defeated Chinese Taipei’s World No. 21 Chi Yu-jen 21-16, 21-15 in just 35 minutes in the opening round.

Later in the day, former World No. 1 pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, a lone Indian challenge left at the 750 event, will take on Danish pair Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen for a place in the semifinals.

The Indian held off France’s Toma Junior Popov and Christo Popov 21-17, 22-24, 21-9 to make it to the quarterfinal.

Earleir, India’s women’s singles campaign at the BWF Super 750 badminton tournament, came to an end on Thursday after Tanvi Sharma lost 21-17, 18-21, 21-16 against Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki.

Meanwhile, India’s mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Olympian Tanisha Crasto lost their second-round match 21-18, 21-18 against Liu Kuang-Heng and Hsu Yin-Hui of Chinese Taipei.