FULLERTON
Indian badminton stars are shining bright in California as Kidambi Srikanth, Devika Sihag, and Rounak Chouhan have all successfully secured their places in the US Open semifinals.
In a thrilling women’s singles quarterfinal, Devika Sihag showcased incredible composure to knock out the third-seeded Riko Gunji of Japan, winning 22-20, 21-19. Devika now faces a tough test in the semifinals against second-seeded Line Christophersen from Denmark.
On the men’s side, Rounak Chouhan continued his impressive tournament run by defeating Israel’s Misha Zilberman. Winning 23-21, 21-11 in just 38 minutes, Chouhan celebrated his first-ever BWF World Tour Super 300 semifinal appearance. He is now set to battle Chinese Taipei’s eighth seed, Su Li Yang, for a spot in the final.
Adding to the excitement, former world number one Kidambi Srikanth proved his class by overcoming Liao Jhuo-Fu of Chinese Taipei. Despite dropping the second game, Srikanth roared back to win 21-9, 12-21, 21-8. He will now face Japan’s fourth seed, Yudai Okimoto, in the next round.
The tournament has been a rollercoaster for the Indian contingent. While Tanvi Sharma and Rakshitha Sree fought hard, they were eliminated in the quarterfinal stage by tough international opponents. However, with three players advancing, fans are hopeful for a memorable all-India final. The performance of these players reflects a growing strength in Indian badminton as they continue to dominate on the world stage.