Malaysia Masters: Kidambi Srikanth into semis, lone Indian standing
The semi-final entry beating France's Toma Junior Popov marks Kidambi Srikanth's first of the season (Image via X/@KhelNow)
Former world No. 1
Kidambi Srikanth
advanced to the semi-finals of the Malaysia Masters 2025 badminton tournament in Bukit Jalil after defeating France's world No. 18 Toma Junior Popov in a thrilling quarter-final match on Friday.
The Indian shuttler, currently ranked 65th globally, won 24-22, 17-21, 22-20 in a contest lasting one hour and 14 minutes.
This victory marks Srikanth's first semi-final appearance of the season and his best result on the BWF World Tour since reaching the Swiss Open Super 300 semi-finals in March 2024.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
The opening game saw Srikanth take an early 7-4 lead before Popov fought back to hold a game point at 21-20. Srikanth managed to secure the game 24-22.
Popov dominated the second game, maintaining a four-point lead at the break. Despite Srikanth leveling the score at 15-all, he ultimately lost the game 17-21.
Bombay Sport Exchange Ep 5: Shane Watson on how IPL gave him a lifeline & his tribute to Phil Hughes
The deciding game proved challenging for Srikanth, who found himself trailing by four points at the mid-game interval. However, he mounted a successful comeback to claim victory in a close finish. This win marks Srikanth's fourth victory in six encounters against Popov.
He had previously defeated Ireland's world No. 33 Nhat Nguyen in the pre-quarterfinals.
Srikanth will face Japan's world No. 22 Yushi Tanaka in Saturday's semi-final. Tanaka had earlier eliminated India's HS Prannoy in the round of 16.
Poll
Do you think Kidambi Srikanth can win the Malaysia Masters 2025 title?
Yes, definitely!
No, he'll fall short.
In the mixed doubles category, India's campaign ended as Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila lost their quarter-final match. The Indian pair was defeated by China's Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin, the 2023 World Championships bronze medallists, with a score of 22-24, 13-21.
Srikanth remains the sole Indian representative in the BWF Super 500 tournament following the exit of the mixed doubles pair.
Get
IPL 2025
match
schedules
,
squads
,
points table
, and live scores for
CSK
,
MI
,
RCB
,
KKR
,
SRH
,
LSG
,
DC
,
GT
,
PBKS
, and
RR
. Check the latest
IPL Orange Cap
and
Purple Cap
standings.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
27 minutes ago
- Time of India
Shooting World Cup: Manu Bhaker falls in qualification; Suruchi Singh clinches 10m air pistol gold
Indian shooter Suruchi Singh secured a gold medal in the Women's 10m Air Pistol event at the ISSF Shooting World Cup in Munich on Friday, outscoring France's Camille Jedrzejewski by 0.2 points with a total of 241.9 points in a close final. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now China's Yao Qianxun claimed the bronze medal with 221.7 points. The 19-year-old's victory marked her fourth overall gold medal and completed a hat-trick of individual golds, following her successful performances in Buenos Aires and Lima in April. Suruchi, from Jhajjar in Haryana, dominated the final from the beginning with an opening round score of 52.1 and followed it with 101.5 in the second round. Despite briefly losing her lead during elimination, she recovered strongly in the final shots to claim victory. Poll Who do you think will be the next rising star in Indian shooting? Suruchi Singh Manu Bhaker Sift Kaur Samra In the qualification round, Suruchi scored 588 with 20 inner 10s to secure second place. Paris Olympic double bronze medallist missed qualification, finishing 25th with a score of 574-14x. Another Indian competitor, Palak, finished in 36th position with a score of 570-18x. Notably, Suruchi had previously defeated Manu in the Women's 10m Air Pistol event at the ISSF World Cup 2025 Lima in Peru. India's medal count at the competition reached three, placing them fourth in the standings. Olympian Elavenil Valarivan had earlier won bronze in the Women's 10m Air Rifle on the opening day. Sift Kaur Samra added another bronze medal for India in the Women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions event on Thursday, further expanding her international achievements. Bombay Sport Exchange Ep. 6: Harish Thawani on cricket's TV market and the watershed moments China currently leads the medal standings with five medals, including three gold and two bronze. Norway and Individual Neutral Athletes occupy the second and third positions respectively.
Time of India
41 minutes ago
- Time of India
Sensational Suruchi nails another ISSF World Cup gold
Suruchi Singh secured her third consecutive ISSF World Cup gold in Munich. The 19-year-old shooter dominated the 10m air pistol final. She edged out France's Camille Jedrzejewski by a narrow margin. Earlier, Suruchi equaled the national record in qualification. This victory marks India's first gold medal in the tournament. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The sensational Suruchi Singh dominated a quality field to win her third straight individual ISSF World Cup gold medal in a thrilling women's 10m air pistol final in Munich on Friday, reaffirming her position as Indian shooting 's latest golden 19-year-old shot 241.9 in the eight-woman final to leave France's Paris Olympic silver medallist Camille Jedrzejewski (241.7) 0.2 behind in second Yao Qianxuan (221.7) bagged the bronze champion Suruchi had earlier won the event in the year's first two World Cup stages in Buenos Aires and Lima as well. Buenos Aires was in fact her tournament debut and she has now won gold in all three of her first ISSF World Cup a run of form that stretches back to the Nationals in December, the Haryana girl shot 588 in qualification to equal the national record held by double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker. Yao topped the 110-field with a junior world record score of ended 21st with a total of 574, while Palak was 30th with the final, a 52.1 in the first series set her on course but by the end of the second five-shot series she was down to second. A 9.7 for her 11th brought her down to fourth and that seemed to have spurred her.A cracking 10.8 gave her the lead back after the 12th and thereafter it was a battle of attrition. Camille and Yao were the prime chasers and the Frenchwoman took advantage of a few 9s by the Indian to go into the lead after the 18th Yao fired a 9.4 in her 22nd shot and the Indian took the second spot behind Camille going into the final two shots. She was 0.5 behind at that stage of the became 0.5 ahead after the 23rd shot when she fired a 10.5 to Camille's 9.5, and despite both shooters finishing with 9s, Suruchi held on to who was doing commentary in the final, expressed her delight after her younger compatriot's gold medal and believed Suruchi looked a bit nervous in the gold medallist said she was a bit lucky to have claimed the top prize."It was the closest among all the finals that I have played (in three World Cups) and I think I was a bit lucky too," Suruchi said after the is India's first gold medal in the prestigious tournament after the bronze won by Anjum Moudgil and Sift Kaur Samra earlier this week.
Indian Express
44 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Athlete-couple Siddhi Hiray and Tejaswin Shankar chart a course for India's NCAA aspirants
Rubbing shoulders with the best university track and field athletes in the United States this week are four Indians — two triple jumpers, a long jumper and a discus thrower. The prestigious National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) outdoor track and field championships are underway at Hayward Field in Oregon. Thousands of miles away, at their Hauz Khas residence, the athlete-couple of Tejaswin Shankar and Siddhi Hiray watch the results closely. Former sprinter Siddhi and decathlete Tejaswin have a role in the record turnout of Indian athletes in the finals of the championships. Two of the four, triple jumpers Selva Prabhu and Sharvari Parulekar, consulted Siddhi's firm, specialising in admissions for student-athletes. Tejaswin, a two-time NCAA high jump champion, has the 'expertise', while Siddi, he says, is the 'brains' behind starting Kings Sports Group in 2024. The couple have gained recognition as the go-to people for Indian athletes aiming for US university scholarships. Along with the six Indians they placed in the NCAA, their footprint has expanded with two Sri Lankans and a Croatian also living the American college dream. Siddhi, without a guide to help crack the admission process, missed the NCAA bus. But brighter fate was around the corner. In 2015, Siddhi and Tejaswin first met as teenage athletes at the World School Games in Wuhan, China, and in time friendship blossomed into love. When Tejaswin went on a full scholarship to Kansas State University in 2017, the NCAA piqued her interest again. A student of business psychology at the Loughborough University, Siddhi travelled to Kansas in 2021 to figure out the collegiate system in which Tejaswin thrived — by excelling in academics and high jump. 'Tejaswin used to regularly talk about the NCAA competitions. I liked the culture of how sports and studies are both managed well. I observed and met coaches and athletes. I wanted to help Indian athletes get the opportunity that Tejaswin got and I missed out,' Siddhi said. Tejaswin went through the grind. The Asian Games and Asian Championships silver medalist in decathlon says University life was challenging as well as rewarding. He credits the NCAA circuit for him winning a high jump bronze at the Commonwealth Games and for his evolution as a combined-events athlete. Finding the perfect fit — for the athlete and university — is key to success. That's where Siddhi steps in. 'There are hundreds of universities in Division 1 but most people in India know only A-B-C-D. How does an athlete know if a particular University is good for long jump? Kids see social media posts and want to go to a University but that may not be the best for them. That is where our expertise comes in. For example, mine (Kansas) was good for high jump and combined events. It's about finding the right opportunity for the right athlete. Also, it is only for those who are willing to do academics along with sports. Because you are supposed to have a life outside sport, you can't miss your exams. You need 70 to 75 per cent attendance,' Tejaswin said. Pavana Nagaraj, the 2024 Asian under-20 long jump champion, moved to San Diego University in September. Pavana travelled directly from the World Under-20 Champions in Lima to the USA. Wanting to step out of her comfort zone, she got talking with Tejaswin, before Siddhi hand-held her during the application process. Pavana, 19, is pursuing an undergraduate course in communication. She's from a sporting family — her mother Sahana Kumari, the women's national record holder in the high jump, while father BG Nagaraj, a former sprinter. 'I moved to a US university as I was looking for more exposure. A lot of collegiate athletes eventually turn professional, so training and competing with them gives you a lot of confidence. The training methods, coaching, facilities make a lot of difference. It is very competitive and that makes you tougher,' Pavana said. Pradeep Senthilkumar, a specialist in the 400m and 800m, too travelled to the other end of the world. He and his coach in India didn't see eye-to-eye. He reached out to Siddhi on Instagram. 'I did some research and found that performance-wise, he would get a scholarship. After that, I connected with him,' Siddhi said. Pradeep was all in, he even quit his railway job to make the move to the University of Nebraska. Pavana and Pradeep had medals to show for but another class of athletes are eager to enter the elite collegiate system — those who finish outside the podium at national meets or promising juniors experiencing stagnation. 'Usually, those who finish 1-2-3 don't want to change anything because they are doing well. It is those who finish 4-5-6-7, the kids who want to change something because they are talented, are putting in the effort but are not doing as well as they expected,' Tejaswin said. University intake is twice a year, in August during fall and in January during spring, but Siddhi works around the year, scouting for talented athletes, talking to parents of athletes who are full of questions, checking athlete eligibility for scholarship, creating athlete profiles, helping in filling application forms, putting athletes in touch with the right university coach and also visa application. Burning midnight oil comes with the job because of the time-zone difference. However, it's a dead end for athletes who don't know English and don't want to learn it. The Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) is required only for the top universities, while TOEFL or Duolingo suffice for others. 'The recruitment process is year-long. There will be lots of questions from our side and their side. We have to wait for the coaches to accept, then see if the athlete likes the particular university that has an offer. After that applications, tests, then a US visa which takes a lot of time now,' Siddhi said. In her heyday, she lost the NCAA opportunity. Today the one-time sprinter is ensuring the next generation of Indian athletes don't.
