- KUALA LUMPUR — Former
world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth produced a gutsy performance on Friday to book his
place in the semi-finals of the Malaysia Masters 2025 badminton tournament in
Bukit Jalil.
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- In a nail-biting men’s singles quarter-final clash, Srikanth
edged past France’s world No. 18 Toma Junior Popov 24-22, 17-21, 22-20 in a
marathon encounter that lasted one hour and 14 minutes.
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- Currently ranked 65th in the world, Srikanth had to dig deep
in the deciding game after trailing at the mid-game break. With his trademark
resilience, the Indian shuttler clawed his way back to win his fourth match in
six meetings against Popov and secure his first semi-final appearance of the
season.
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- This marks Srikanth’s best result on the BWF World Tour
since his semi-final run at the Swiss Open Super 300 in March 2024. The Indian
started the match strongly, racing to a 7-4 lead in the opening game. However,
Popov recovered quickly and even held a game point at 21-20. Srikanth showed
his composure to turn the tables and clinch the game 24-22.
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- The second game saw the momentum shift as Popov went into
the break with a four-point cushion. Srikanth managed to level the score at
15-all but couldn’t maintain the tempo, eventually conceding the game 17-21.
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- In the decider, Srikanth once again found himself four
points behind at the mid-game interval. But showing tremendous grit and court
awareness, he mounted an inspired comeback to outlast Popov in a tense finish
and move into the last four.
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- Srikanth had earlier defeated Ireland’s world No. 33 Nhat
Nguyen in the pre-quarterfinals. He will now face Japan’s world No. 22 Yushi
Tanaka in the semi-final on Saturday. Tanaka had earlier knocked out India's HS
Prannoy in the round of 16.
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