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Kidambi Srikanth's inspiring campaign at the Malaysia Open 2025 finally came to a screeching halt with an agonising defeat in a lop-sided final on May 25, Sunday. Kidambi Srikanth faced a disappointing defeat in the final as he went down to his Chinese counterpart Li Shi Feng with a scoreline of 11-21, 9-21 in just 36 minutes. This marked a big setback for the India's star shuttler, who had previously earned a silver medal at the 2021 World Championships in Huelva.
Kidambi Srikanth loses in Malaysia Masters final
Earlier in the tournament, the 32-year-old Srikanth reached his first BWF final in almost six years, with his last appearance being the runner-up finish at the India Open 2019. He secured his spot in the final by defeating Japan's World No. 23 Yushi Tanaka in the semi-final with a 21-18, 24-22 victory on Saturday, May 24.
Srikanth has a notable history in the sport, becoming the first Indian to clinch four BWF titles in 2017, with wins at the Indonesia Open, Australian Open, Denmark Open, and French Open. He also played a crucial role in India's maiden Commonwealth gold in the team event at Gold Coast in 2018.
His journey through the Malaysia Masters began in the qualifiers. He then advanced by defeating Nhat Nguyen of Ireland in straight games in the Round of 16. In a hard-fought quarter-final match, Srikanth overcame France's Toma Junior Popov with a score of 24-22, 17-21, 22-20. After easing past Tanaka in the semi-finals, he ultimately succumbed to Li Shi Feng, who claimed his first BWF title of 2025, building on his Japan Masters triumph last year.
Despite winning gold in the team event at the Thomas Cup 2022 in Bangkok, Srikanth has faced a challenging period recently, with his rankings dropping to No. 82 earlier this month. His career has also been impacted by injuries, particularly ankle issues, and the cancellation of qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented his participation. These recurring injury concerns have significantly affected his consistency on the court.
“It has been a pretty good week. It's my third tournament. I played decently well in the first two as well, but couldn't really win those matches. But pretty happy with the way it went so far," Srikanth said after the match.
“Not exactly the way I wanted to be today, but still, I think he (Feng) played well. I'm just very happy to be back playing again. I just want to keep myself happy. There was a point in my career where I was pretty used to being standing there, and then it's been a while," he added.
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