An astounding Championship campaign came to a disappointing end for Kidambi Srikanth on Sunday, December 19th, when he succumbed to a 15-21, 20-22 defeat in the final of the BWF World Championships against Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew.
After his historical performance in Huelva, Spain, the 14th seed became the first-ever Indian men’s player to bag a silver in the singles event at the Worlds.
Kidami Srikanth’s Route to Finals –
Easy win against Abian
Srikanth’s tournament began with ease past Pablo Abian. The two of them had previously met at the BWF World Championship 2018, and it was Srikanth who had tasted victory in the earlier fixture as well.
The Spaniard faced an array of attacking shots for which he had no sound answer. Srikanth won the match in straight sets 21-12, 21-16.
Edged past Shi Feng
The former World Number 1 came from a set behind to clinch the game 15-21, 21-18, 21-17 against Li Shi Feng of China. Though Feng was in control through the midway of the second set, Srikanth switched momentum with 10 straight points, from 6-9 to 16-9, and claimed the set.
It was their first-ever meeting in a world event, and Srikanth’s net strokes and net kills proved too much in the end for the 21-year-old Chinese.
Comfortable victory in the Round of 16
The 28-year-old faced Lu Guang Zu of China in the pre-quarterfinal fixture. In the previous round, the Chinese had defeated the 4th seeded Chou Tien-Chen and was looking in good touch.
But Srikanth found little resistance from Zu as he breezed past him in straight sets. A scoreline of 21-10, 21-15 depicts the domination by the Indian Player.
Straightforward Quarter-finals
It seemed like Srikanth didn’t break a sweat during his 21-8, 21-7 win over Mark Caljouw. The tall Dutch was no match for the Arjuna awardee, as it hardly took him 25 minutes to finish the match.
All Indian Semi-final Affair
The first semi-final of the competition had a touch of Indian exclusivity to it, with Srikanth’s opponent being 20-year-old Lakshya Sen from Uttarakhand. This was Sen’s first-ever World Championships, and he had managed to reach the semis in his first attempt.
The rookie was full of athleticism and energy, which was evident from his many diving returns. The match was filled with high-intensity rallies and hard down the line smashes. After losing the first set, Srikanth came back strongly and finished the match in his favour.
Sen eventually won the 3rd place fixture and secured a Bronze in his very first outing.
Srikanth entered the finals of the BWF World Championships with a 17-21, 21-14, 21-17 result in the semi-finals.
Final break to Srikanth’s Juggernaut
Kidambi Srikanth was one win away from making history as the first-ever Indian men’s player to win the singles event at the Worlds but was halted by Loh Kean Yew.
Both the players had previously met in the 2018 Commonwealth Games when Srikanth had prevailed in straight sets. Yew became the first Singaporean to win the men’s singles event at the World Championships.
Although he lost in the finals, Kidambi Srikanth’s 2021 BWF World Championships campaign will be historic in the Indian context and one to remember for him and Indian badminton fans.
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