Calgary
India’s Kidambi Srikanth continued his strong run by beating world No. 6 Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the Canada Open Super 300 badminton tournament. Srikanth won in straight games 21-18, 21-9 during their quarterfinal match on Saturday. The match lasted 43 minutes and showed Srikanth’s great form and control on court.
Before this, Srikanth defeated Wang Po-Wei of Chinese Taipei 21-19, 21-14 in the pre-quarterfinals to set up this important clash. Now ranked 49th in the world, Srikanth will face Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto in the semifinal. Nishimoto is seeded third and known for his solid court coverage. Srikanth has a 6-4 head-to-head lead over him. The Indian had beaten Nishimoto at the last World Championships in straight games, even though Nishimoto has been a tough opponent for many Indian players.
Nishimoto reached the semifinal after a tough 21-15, 5-21, 21-17 win over India’s Sankar Muthusamy Subramaniam.
In women’s singles, young Indian player Shriyanshi Valishetty fought hard but lost to Denmark’s Amalie Schulz. She won the first game 21-12 but lost the next two games 19-21, 19-21. Shriyanshi tried to come back in both games and even closed a big gap in the final game but fell short at 19-21.
Her efforts during the North American tour were impressive, and she showed great promise for the future. Srikanth’s big win gives Indian badminton fans hope for a strong finish at the Canada Open. All eyes will now be on his semifinal clash.