US Open 2026 badminton: Kidambi Srikanth finishes runner-up after final loss to Su Li Yang
India's Kidambi Srikanth finished as runner-up at the US Open 2026 after a grueling three-game defeat to Chinese Taipei’s Su Li Yang in the final, prolonging the former world number one's wait for a BWF World Tour title
Hyderabad: Former world number one Kidambi Srikanth’s wait for a BWF World Tour title was extended further after he went down against Chinese Taipei’s Su Li Yang in the men’s semifinals of the US Open Badminton tournament here on Sunday night.
The 33-year-old, facing an opponent who is nine years younger to him, pushed himself to find that winning momentum but could not avoid a 21-15, 16-21, 21-9 loss in an hour and nine minutes.
It was Su who got off the blocks fast in the opening game as he took a 10-5 lead. Srikanth levelled the scores at 10-10 before the Taipei shuttler won seven consecutive points to runaway with the game.
Srikanth kept pace with Su in the second game for the first half and then changed the tempo to move from 15-13 to 20-13 before converting his fourth game point. However, the effort did take a toll on Srikanth’s tired legs.
Though he stayed neck-and-neck with Su till 9-7, the 24-year-old then took eight straight points to seal the match.
En route to the final, Srikanth produced the tournament’s ultimate act of sportsmanship during a tense semifinal moment; when officials refused to correct a wrong call despite heavy protests, he walked up to the referee to concede, handing the point back to Japan’s Okimoto.
