Malaysia Masters: Srikanth to take on Li Shi Feng in final on Sunday

• KUALA LUMPUR — Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth advanced to his first men’s singles final at a BWF event in six years with a straight-game victory over Japan’s Yushi Tanaka at the Malaysia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament on Saturday.
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• The 32-year-old, a silver medallist at the 2023 World Championships, produced a stellar performance, displaying flashes of his vintage form with sharp net play and aggressive shot-making to overcome world No. 23 Tanaka 21-18, 24-22 in a gripping encounter.
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• This marks Srikanth’s first BWF World Tour final appearance since he finished runner-up at the 2019 India Open. His last title came in 2017, a year which saw him lift four silverwares.

Also read: Malaysia Masters: Kidambi Srikanth battles into semis, lone Indian left in the draw

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• Once ranked world No. 1, Srikanth has slipped to 65th in the rankings, having battled a dip in form and fitness in recent years.
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• Expressing his excitement of reaching the final after a six-year hiatus, Srikanth said, "Pretty happy".
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• "Physically I've been feeling well, but also the fact that I haven't played tonight or this last year, playing qualifying, so maybe kind of lost that touch of playing matches. Somehow everything works well this time.
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• "I haven't really planned anything. It's just about being physically fit, being injury free, and then playing how many hours it's possible. I don't really have a target of playing when it's done, so it's just about training and being physically fit and then playing.
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• "Obviously, if I played, I would have just played a bit. So, I really want to give myself enough time to recover, to train, and then play this time," Srikanth added.
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• Srikanth will now take on China's Li Shi Feng in the final on Sunday. The head-to-head record between the two players favours the Chinese with three wins in four encounters.