Latest news with #KidambiSrikanth
Malaysia Sun
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Malaysia Sun
Kidambi misses out on Malaysia Masters title, loses to Li Shi in final
Bukit Jalil [Malaysia], May 25 (ANI): Indian World Championships silver medalist shuttler Kidambi Srikanth missed out on the Malaysia Masters title, losing to China's Li Shi Feng in the title clash at Bukit Jalil on Sunday. Kidambi, a former world number one, lost his first final in six years by 11-21, 9-21 in two successive games. The former world number one has not secured a Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour title yet, having been a runners-up in India Open back in 2019. Other than that, he won the historic Thomas Cup gold with Team India in 2022, a silver medal in men's singles at the 2021 World Championships, four Commonwealth Games medals, including gold in mixed team competition back in 2018, a men's team silver in the Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 among other accomplishments. The Badminton Association of India (BAI) on their X posted about his loss in the final, 'He may have missed the title, but @srikidambi rediscovered something deeper -- belief, hunger, and a spark that could lift Indian badminton to new heights. After 6 years, he didn't just reach a final -- he reminded himself who he truly is. Surely this is the start of something bigger and better. Let's go.' Currently ranked 65th in the badminton rankings, Srikanth defeated world No. 23 Yushi Tanaka 21-18, 24-22 in a hard-fought semi-final contest which lasted 49 minutes. This was Srikanth's first semi-final appearance of the year. His last top-four finish on the BWF World Tour was at the Swiss Open Super 300 in March 20. Earlier in the quarterfinals, Srikanth won over France's Toma Junior Popov and advanced to the semi-finals. Srikanth came from behind in the decider to register a gritty 24-22, 17-21, 22-20 win over world No. 18 Popov in a match that lasted one hour and 14 minutes on Friday. (ANI)
Indian Express
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Malaysia Masters: Despite final defeat, Srikanth Kidambi rediscovers the high of playing on Sundays on his pursuit of happiness
If his fans have missed the reflected glory that came with Kidambi Srikanth sauntering to top-tier badminton titles in style, you can imagine how much he yearned for those big Sundays. The loss handed out to him at Malaysia Masters on Sunday was brutal – the shortest final of the five contested at 36 minutes – with Chinese heir apparent Li Shifeng winning 21-11, 21-9. Srikanth was overpowered in his first individual final since the 2021 World Championships. But there was an overwhelming vibe of glee that one of badminton's most elegant strokemakers was back on the big stage. Prone to being understated, Srikanth did offer a peek into this longing for the glory days. Now, anyone who knows the former World No 1 (back in 2018), would tell you his longing for sporting success is like Mr Darcy pining after Elizabeth Bennet: in vain and utter unbristling silence, he has struggled since his last Tour final in 2019. On Sunday in Kuala Lumpur, Srikanth let on a little. 'It's been a while. There was a point in my career when I was pretty used to standing there (on the podium) and then it's been a while,' he said of the special feeling. Indian badminton, in general doldrums, had little time to mope solely over Srikanth. The plummet has been for pretty much every big name in the last two years. So Srikanth was surprised that people missed him. 'My chair umpire was also asking where have I been. I didn't know people missed me,' he said. For someone who daydreamed of these scenarios before life and wretched ankle injuries caught up with him – this re-emergence of oblivion was a merry realisation. In 2017, after 4 titles across Indonesia, Denmark, France and Australia, to go with a final in Singapore, Srikanth had confidently said, 'I want to win like Lin Dan – over 5 World Championship medals.' But it goes back even further. 'So basically going back to 2001 when Gopi bhaiyya had won the All England. I kind of started imagining myself playing on the centre court with only lights projecting on my court. I've always dreamt of it,' he explained on Sunday. Badminton, played in massive multipurpose indoor arenas, don't have a fixed centre court. Competition is spread over four courts at least simultaneously, and applause from one can easily overshadow drama on an adjacent court and make the whole experience underwhelming. But as the draw whittles down, Sunday finals are centred on one main centre court, and the dark halls shower spotlight on the playing area, making it very special for finalists. In India, only a bunch of shuttlers – Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Sai Praneeth, HS Prannoy, Satwik-Chirag, and Lakshya Sen, besides Srikanth have experienced this at the highest level. 'It's always good to play such matches, and again, unless you reach finals, it doesn't happen. So I'm happy to be playing that again,' he added. The rustiness – he was at this level after many years – showed on Sunday. Plus, Shifeng with his mega-power game, was ruthless with his high-wattage smashes. Srikanth tried pinning him to corners, but made several errors trying to breach that long-levered defense. He was outplayed but showed flashes of brilliance, like a 46-shot rally that saw him prevail with a pristine reverse slice push at the net. But in the end, he had to be happy about the stoic acceptance of the loss and celebrate a little having come through the qualifiers to play a seventh match in six days as a World No 65. Moreover, everywhere he went, people told him they were happy to see him again. Playing big finals – walking into that rectangular spotlight – makes Srikanth happy. And it's only that feeling of happiness he's hunting down. But it's taken a Groundhog Day routine in training, with nothing spectacular to show, and unreal discipline to keep showing up, before he even got to Finals Day. His trainer Sumansh Sivalanka says Srikanth's everyday discipline has been so undramatic and mundane that his respect for both Srikanth and Prannoy, the 'seniors', grew simply watching them consistently keep at it, with no ribbons and prize on the near horizon. 'I wish juniors could learn how disciplined Srikanth is,' Sumansh says first up. 'It's been steady capacity-building to just bring resilience and strength in tissues that were broken,' he adds. Srikanth had a fall at the Singapore Open last year that forced him to take a break. But things went dire start of 2024, the Olympics qualification period, when his knee and heel both acted up and put the brakes on his ambition to make it to Paris. 'After that, we took our own sweet time to let it heal. Srikanth was still working on his core and upper body, but the decisions we took to not rush him back helped. What you see this week, the preparation for it started last August. The results are visible only now,' Sumansh says. There wasn't a waving of a wand or a dramatic turnaround – just uncountable days spent increasing the load gradually. His rankings went into free fall, and the only bright spot was that the injuries were caught early, and he was pulled back. 'Thankfully, no surgery needed; we managed conservatively. He knew it was a matter of time, but it takes maturity to step back, get stronger.' And stay silent, even if the dreams of that finals spotlight torment. Srikanth was never scared, Sumansh says, and never lost self-belief. 'He didn't stop showing up for training. Maintained sleep habits, diet, and kept an ideal weight. He can eat the same thing day in, day out for months and years. And sleep at the same time. Nobody had to tell him, elites know,' he said. Capacity building to take heavy training loads, happens in silence. Without Insta Reels and stop watch numbers displayed. 'There's no magic. Just consistency. But he's kept fitness even in three weeks of travel and tournaments (Taipei, Thailand and Malaysia). Fitness can drop off if you don't have the home set-up. But he is lifting, running no matter what. 'He saw an opportunity in Malaysia and grabbed it,' Sumansh adds. Srikanth knew he was ready when he could do everything the coach asked of him in training – those sessions where heart rates can hit the roof of human capacity. But the real proof was in playing seven matches, recovering and fighting freshly the next day. Is he back to old levels? Perhaps not yet, though his natural agility to jump and land is back to elite levels. 'His jump smash of 2015 and of 2025 is the same,' Sumansh says. They measured. 'There are scientific limitations to physiological capacity as you age. But he can get better.' Srikanth likes fewer things better than playing tournament finals, and there are fewer things still he considers as a day spent well. Li Shifeng has had the better of him for a while now and this was a drubbing. But if 2017 was any indication, Srikanth's courage rises with every attempt to intimidate him. Now that he's tasted Finals again, and he's feeling fit, he will chase them. Sundays again.
India Gazette
25-05-2025
- Sport
- India Gazette
Kidambi misses out on Malaysia Masters title, loses to Li Shi in final
Bukit Jalil [Malaysia], May 25 (ANI): Indian World Championships silver medalist shuttler Kidambi Srikanth missed out on the Malaysia Masters title, losing to China's Li Shi Feng in the title clash at Bukit Jalil on Sunday. Kidambi, a former world number one, lost his first final in six years by 11-21, 9-21 in two successive games. The former world number one has not secured a Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour title yet, having been a runners-up in India Open back in 2019. Other than that, he won the historic Thomas Cup gold with Team India in 2022, a silver medal in men's singles at the 2021 World Championships, four Commonwealth Games medals, including gold in mixed team competition back in 2018, a men's team silver in the Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 among other accomplishments. The Badminton Association of India (BAI) on their X posted about his loss in the final, 'He may have missed the title, but @srikidambi rediscovered something deeper -- belief, hunger, and a spark that could lift Indian badminton to new heights. After 6 years, he didn't just reach a final -- he reminded himself who he truly is. Surely this is the start of something bigger and better. Let's go.' Currently ranked 65th in the badminton rankings, Srikanth defeated world No. 23 Yushi Tanaka 21-18, 24-22 in a hard-fought semi-final contest which lasted 49 minutes. This was Srikanth's first semi-final appearance of the year. His last top-four finish on the BWF World Tour was at the Swiss Open Super 300 in March 20. Earlier in the quarterfinals, Srikanth won over France's Toma Junior Popov and advanced to the semi-finals. Srikanth came from behind in the decider to register a gritty 24-22, 17-21, 22-20 win over world No. 18 Popov in a match that lasted one hour and 14 minutes on Friday. (ANI)
India Today
25-05-2025
- Sport
- India Today
Kidambi Srikanth relishing tournament-mode despite Malaysia Open silver finish
Kidambi Srikanth emphasised that he is simply happy to be back in tournament mode—competing again after a prolonged injury phase—even though his return culminated in a runner-up finish at the Malaysia Open 2025. The 32-year-old went down 11-21, 9-21 to China's Li Shi Feng in the men's singles final on Sunday, bringing a gritty week to a the straight-game defeat, Srikanth's run to the final was filled with encouraging signs. Starting from the qualifying rounds, he steadily built momentum through the tournament. A key highlight came in the semi-final, where he secured a clinical win over Japan's Yushi Tanaka in straight games, displaying sharp control and court didn't know people really missed me! But I'm very happy to be back. I fell during the Singapore Open last year and had to take a break. It ended up being longer than I expected. And then I got married in November last year, so that was another break. I started playing again in January this year," Srikanth said. "Coming back from injury and a long break is always tough. You haven't played many matches, so it's not easy to directly get into tournament mode. But I think the biggest positive is that I'm feeling much better physically now, and I just want to continue from here," he was his first appearance in a BWF World Tour final since the 2019 India Open—ending a six-year drought. The result also marked his best finish since clinching silver at the 2021 World Championships, and it came at a time when many had started to count him out. Srikanth, once a fixture in the world's top ten, had fallen to as low as No.82 in the rankings earlier this month, following repeated injury setbacks and missed competitive road back has been far from smooth. An ankle issue sidelined him for a large part of last year, compounded by missed Olympic qualification opportunities and limited match time. But in Kuala Lumpur, Srikanth looked physically freer and mentally clearer, working his way through tightly-contested matches with a calmness that had been missing of won four Superseries titles in 2017—Srikanth now appears focused on enjoying the sport again, rather than chasing immediate results.
The Hindu
25-05-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Malaysia Masters 2025: Kidambi Srikanth loses to Li Shi Feng in the final
India's Kidambi Srikanth capped a remarkable campaign with a runner-up finish at the Malaysia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament here on Sunday, going down in straight games to China's world No. 4 Li Shi Feng in the men's singles final. The 32-year-old, who charted a long road back from injuries and missed opportunities, made his first BWF World Tour final in six years, starting from the qualifiers and riding a resurgent wave all the way to the title clash. HIGHLIGHTS However, the former world No. 1 was erratic and struggled to break through the second-seeded Li's solid defence and was unable to convert openings, eventually losing in 11-21 9-21 in 36 minutes. Despite the loss, it was an inspirational show from Srikanth, who, after slipping to world No. 82 earlier this month, showed grit and class to remind the world of his calibre. The last time Srikanth reached a BWF World Tour final was at the 2019 India Open, where he also finished runner-up. He was also the silver medallist at the 2021 World Championships.
