Latest news with #SrikanthKidambi
Malaysia Sun
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Malaysia Sun
China caps off successful Malaysia Masters with titles in four categories
Xinhua 25 May 2025, 17:48 GMT+10 KUALA LUMPUR, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shuttlers dominated the finals of the 2025 Malaysia Masters, taking titles in four categories here on Sunday. Men's singles shuttler Li Shifeng overpowered Srikanth Kidambi of India 21-11, 21-9 at the Axiata Arena. In the women's singles, Wang Zhiyi bested compatriot Han Yue 13-21, 21-13, 21-18 in a hard-fought battle lasting over an hour. The women's doubles final was an all-Chinese affair, with Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning outplaying Jia Yifan and Zhang Shuxian 21-17, 21-18. In another battle between compatriots, Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping overcame Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin 21-17, 14-21, 21-16 in the mixed doubles final.
Indian Express
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Srikanth Kidambi after runner-up finish at Malaysia Masters: ‘Feels special to be back on podium, just want to keep myself happy'
Srikanth Kidambi said on Sunday that for someone who had been quite used to finishing on podiums earlier in his career, it felt special to finally end a long wait as he capped a remarkable campaign with a runner-up finish at the Malaysia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament on Sunday. Srikanth went down in straight games to China's world No. 4 Li Shi Feng in the men's singles final and admitted it wasn't the level he wanted to be at for the title clash. 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. 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. Here's what Srikanth had to tell BWF media after finishing a fine week and returning to the podium as the runner-up: Pretty good week. It's my third tournament also (in this swing). Played decently well in the first two as well but couldn't really win those matches. But pretty happy with the way how it went so far (in Malaysia). Not exactly the way I wanted to be today but still I think he played really well. You do realise you're one of the more romantic stories to have come out of this. People are very happy to see you back, including umpires. Where have you been and what's this return about? I know, my chair umpire was also asking where have you been! I didn't know people really missed me. But yeah, very happy to be back again. And obviously, I fell during the Singapore Open last year, and then I had to take a little off time. But then again, it got a little extended, more than I thought. And then I also got married last year in November. So that's another break. I started again from January. It's always tough when you're coming back from an injury and also from break. And then, when you haven't really played too many matches it's not easy to come directly and play the tournament. It took some time. I think the positive of everything is that I'm feeling better physically. So I just want to continue from here. What's this hunt about? What are you after? I'm just very happy to be back playing again. I just want to keep myself happy, that's it. And when you look at this silver, when you were standing on the podium, just general thoughts and emotions? Yeah, obviously again, it's been a while. There was a point in my career where I was pretty used to being standing there and then it's been a while. So to be back again on the podium really feels special Missed this high? Yeah. So basically, again going back in 2001 when Gopi bhaiya had won that All England title, I kind of started imagining myself playing on the centre court with only lights projecting on the centre court. I've always dreamt of it. And it's always good to be playing such matches and again, unless you reach finals, it doesn't really happen. So I'm very happy to be again playing like that.
Indian Express
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Srikanth Kidambi, Malaysia Masters 2025 Badminton Final Live Updates: Indian shuttler looks to clinch title vs Li Shifeng
Srikanth Kidambi vs Li Shifeng Live Score, Badminton Malaysia Masters 2025 Final Live Scorecard Online Today Match: Kidambi Srikanth is set to play his first men's singles individual final since December 2021 as as he takes on second seeded Chinese Li Shifeng in the summit clash on Sunday in Kuala Lumpur. This was after the Indian shuttler defeated Japan's Yushi Tanaka 21-18 24-22 in the semifinal on Saturday, continuing his fine run that started in the qualification rounds on Tuesday at the Axiata Arena. World No 65 Srikanth, who is set to reenter the top 50, beat world No 13 Lu Guang Zu in the first-round of main draw, before overcoming Nhat Nguyen and Toma Junior Popov, before his Saturday win against Tanaka. Read more about his run so far here. 'I'm pretty happy. It's been a while. 'Physically I've been feeling well, but also the fact that I haven't played too many matches last year, playing qualifying, so may be kind of lost that touch of playing matches. And yeah, somehow everything worked out this time. I've been working hard last month. It's just these wins, after a very long time, that is what has been my emotions,' Srikanth told BWF after the match on Saturday. Srikanth who became the first Indian to win four BWF titles in a season back 2017 and then led the country to its first-ever Commonwealth Games gold in the team event, has a tough task in front of him with Li Shifeng who holds the edge when it comes to head to head clashes with 3 wins out of 4 times they met. Srikanth Kidambi after semifinal win against Yushi Tanaka. ((BWF / BadmintonPhoto) Malaysia Masters: Why Srikanth Kidambi's stellar run to the final can be a beacon of hope for Indian badminton Srikanth Kidambi is not a man of many words. Unlike his game on the court – full of creativity, elegance, often filled with frustration, but at other times capable of playing jaw-dropping shots – he's measured and guarded off it. So when the interviewer asked him on Saturday, after his 21-18 24-22 win at the Malaysia Masters semifinal against Yushi Tanaka, how long has it been since he reached a final on tour, he just smiled. 'I don't know, I have lost track of it.'
Indian Express
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Malaysia Masters: Why Srikanth Kidambi's stellar run to the final can be a beacon of hope for Indian badminton
Srikanth Kidambi is not a man of many words. Unlike his game on the court – full of creativity, elegance, often filled with frustration, but at other times capable of playing jaw-dropping shots – he's measured and guarded off it. So when the interviewer asked him on Saturday, after his 21-18 24-22 win at the Malaysia Masters semifinal against Yushi Tanaka, how long has it been since he reached a final on tour, he just smiled. 'I don't know, I have lost track of it.' Indeed, it's been 1,252 days. For the record – not including team events where he has had more recent success – this is Srikanth's first final internationally since December 2021 at the World Championships, where he created history by winning silver. And on the BWF World Tour, this is the first final since March 2019 at the India Open. 'Pretty happy. It's been a while,' he added, matter-of-factly. As he saw a crosscourt half-smash from Tanaka, seven years junior to him but currently 42 places higher on the world rankings, sail wide to his forehand side, Srikanth first fell on his back with arms spread. He got up, let out a couple of huge roars reminiscent of the winning moments from India's Thomas Cup triumph, and went for a quick embrace with coach Guru Saidutt. It might have been straight games, it might have taken just 49 minutes, but Srikanth had to fight hard and turn around deficits to overcome the speedy Japanese. In the first game, It wasn't just a sweet win for Srikanth. Watching on in Kuala Lumpur was HS Prannoy, Srikanth's training partner and a former winner at this very event back in 2023 for a long-awaited breakthrough in his career. 'It's always good to see somebody play a final in these bigger events because it not just gives confidence to that player but I think it gives the entire bench a boost that we can also go and play a major finals, right? That's very important, especially from an Indian badminton perspective because we had a very rough patch in the last few months, probably for a year,' Prannoy told The Indian Express. 'I think for the coaches also who have been working tirelessly, it says to them, 'Okay what we are doing is working, right?' A big result for not just Srikanth, but I think for the entire Indian badminton.' Srikanth attributed the run to being back to a high fitness level. 'Physically, I've been feeling well, but also the fact that I haven't played too many tournaments this last year, playing qualifying rounds, so maybe kind of lost that touch of playing matches. And yeah, somehow everything worked out this time. I've been working hard last month, really hard,' the former World No 1 told the Badminton World Federation (BWF). This week has seen Srikanth find some of the old magic back, but it has not been all flash and flair, it's been painstakingly put together from the qualification rounds. He has gone past Junior World Champion Kuo Kuan-lin, one of the most in-form players on tour in Lu Guang Zu, higher-ranked grafters in Nhat Nguyen and Toma Junior Popov, and a tricky unknown of sorts in Tanaka. Speaking to The Indian Express after the first-round matches – where Prannoy and Srikanth beat world No. 12 and 13 respectively – Guru Saidutt had said that the veterans have been putting in the hard yards in training, despite the lack of recent results. He went on to say that they have perhaps been even more disciplined than they have ever been, knowing that they still have the chance to turn their fortunes around. Prannoy recalled having a chat with Srikanth recently. 'To be on the tour, losing first rounds is not easy. There are times when you start to question a lot of things. Your physical fitness, your mental fitness. But the important thing is, from a senior level, we have been able to keep that aside and work on what we needed to improve, no matter what the results were. We always showed up in practice and that's probably the toughest task to do.' 'We don't converse much, actually. Srikanth isn't somebody who talks a lot,' Prannoy added. 'But a month and a half or so back, we had a long conversation on what we need to do collectively, just for us to improve, not for the sake of anybody else. Probably after a very long time, we had such a conversation to be honest, when we spoke for almost an hour.' Against Tanaka, Srikanth didn't see his name in the lead till 17-16. Every time he caught up with Tanaka, he couldn't get past but managed to find a flurry of winners at the endgame when it mattered. In Game 2, Srikanth trailed 3-9. But a combination of errors from Tanaka and his own proactive play at the net, where he repeatedly took the initiative to rush and kill points, saw Srikanth edge ahead midway, and despite a tight late tussle, he converted his third match-point opportunity. Two of the shots of the match came late on in Game 2 as he produced gorgeous slice drops from midcourt. One of the standout features of Srikanth's gameplay was to play high-percentage shots to stay in the rally when under pressure from Tanaka, but pounce immediately when he got the height to work with. On Sunday, Srikanth will face the toughest test of this week against world No. 4 Li Shi Feng, a graduate from Lakshya Sen's junior batch of 2018. 'I hope I can perform better in the final, Kidambi is a very experienced and skillful player. He is an all-rounder and that's another challenge for me,' Li told BWF. Srikanth's legs will be weary from six wins in four days. But Li's aware it won't be easy for him either. Vinayakk Mohanarangan is Senior Assistant Editor and is based in New Delhi. ... Read More
Indian Express
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Watch highlights: Srikanth Kidambi reaches Malaysia Masters semifinals with another impressive win
Continuing his impressive return to form this week, former world No 1 Srikanth Kidambi secured a place in the semi-finals of the Malaysia Masters 2025 with a hard-fought win over world No 18 Toma Junior Popov in a thrilling quarterfinal encounter on Friday. Srikanth, who has slid down to world No 65 but is mounting a comeback, edged past the senior of the Popov brothers 24-22, 17-21, 22-20 in a match that lasted just over an hour. Having come through the qualification rounds to reach the main draw in Kuala Lumpur this week, earlier in the tournament, Srikanth ousted sixth seed Lu Guang Zu of China and world No 33 Nhat Nguyen of Ireland in impressive fashion. Srikanth last reached the semifinals on the BWF World Tour in March last year at the Swiss Open where he had lost in three games against Lin Chun Yi. Srikanth will next face Japan's Yushi Tanaka (world No 23) in the semi-finals, aiming to continue his outstanding run. Tanaka will be a tricky opponent as Srikanth's friend and training partner HS Prannoy would have found out, as the Japanese shuttler ousted the 2023 Malaysia Masters winner on Thursday in the round of 16. The Japanese bea Christo Popov, brother of Toma Junior, 21-18 16-21 21-6 in the other men's singles quarterfinal. The second men's singles semifinal will be played between fourth seed Kodai Naraoka of Japan and second seed Li Shi Feng of China. Srikanth is now the lone surviving Indian in the BWF World Tour Super 500 tournament after the exit of the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto in the quarterfinals on Friday. Kapila and Crasto gave top seed Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin of China a tough fight in the first game but lost steam in the next to bow out 22-24 13-21 in a 35-minute affair.
