Friday brought disappointment for Indian badminton fans in Shenzhen as Kidambi Srikanth saw his campaign at the China Masters Super 750 end in the quarter-final stage. The seasoned Indian competitor faced Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu, who put up a stellar performance to seal the victory in straight games. The hard-fought contest lasted for a total of thirty-nine minutes before the Hong Kong shuttler emerged victorious.
Early Momentum and First Game Dynamics
The thirty-three-year-old Indian player entered the court with aggressive intent, quickly establishing an early three-nil lead at the start of the opening game. However, his opponent soon settled into a steady rhythm, wiping out the deficit by winning three straight points to level the score at three-all. The Hong Kong competitor then seized control of the pace, stringing together six consecutive points to pull ahead at fourteen-six.
Despite mounting a spirited effort to close the gap, the deficit proved too substantial to overcome in the opening stretch. Lee maintained his composure under pressure to secure the first game. Earlier in the season, Srikanth had shown positive signs of returning to form by finishing as the runner-up at the US Open Super 300 tournament.
Fierce Battle in the Second Game
The second game offered an even tighter and more dramatic contest on the court. Srikanth once again launched a strong start, racing to a four-nil advantage before his opponent fought back with four unanswered points to tie the score at four-all. Extended rallies became the norm as both athletes traded points with minimal separation between them.
Lead changes occurred frequently during this intense phase, culminating in a fifteen-all deadlock. Just as it appeared the Indian star might seize the momentum, the Hong Kong player elevated his game. He claimed three quick points to pull ahead eighteen-fifteen and followed it up with three more consecutive points to close out the match in straight games.
Looking Ahead and Previous Round Success
Following this victory, Lee advances to the semi-finals, where he will face France's second-ranked player Christo Popov. The thirty-year-old Hong Kong shuttler had previously demonstrated his capability earlier in the year during the Singapore Open in May, where he staged a remarkable comeback under difficult circumstances to defeat All England champion Lin Chun-Yi.
Although Srikanth's run concluded in the quarter-finals, his journey to this stage included a notable performance in the previous round. During the round of sixteen, he secured a hard-fought victory against Canada's world number nine Victor Lai with scores of twenty-one-eighteen and twenty-one-nineteen, though he ultimately fell short against Lee in the following match.
