World Championships silver medalist Kidambi Srikanth scripted a stunning three-game win against Denmark’s world number three Anders Antonsen and with this win, Srikanth secured his berth in the men's singles semifinals of Swiss Open Super 300 badminton tournament.
Srikanth's victory
The world number 12 won the match 21-19, 19-21, 22-20 over second seed Antonsen, late on Friday (March 25) night. The Indian shuttler is set to face fourth seed and Asian Games gold medalist Jonatan Christie of Indonesia on Saturday.
The first game of the match between Srikanth and Antonsen experienced multiple turnarounds. The seventh seeded Indian badminton player initially claimed a comfortable 9-1 lead but the Danish shuttler was prompt to register a comeback as he secured a surprising 11-point burst. But eventually, Srikanth managed to bag the first game.
In the second game, Srikanth had initially claimed a three-point (9-6) lead but Antonsen once again registered a resounding comeback as he secured a 15-12 advantage in the second game. Eventually, Antonsen won the second game 21-19 to make it one game apiece.
In the third game of the match, the 24-year-old Denmark’s badminton player started the play on a positive note as he secured a 4-1 lead but Srikanth came back strongly to make it 4-4 soon. Later, Antonsen earned a big lead of 13-7 but the Indian shuttler won six points to make it 13-13. At 15-15, Srikanth won three points back-to-back to take a crucial 18-15 lead but the Danish player displayed some amazing skills to take a match point at 20-19 but Srikanth ultimately remained calm to win the third and final game 22-20.
Previously, Srikanth thwarted a brilliant challenge from French badminton player Christo Popov, ranked 60th, to claim 13-21, 25-23, 21-11 win to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Super 300 tournament.
Sindhu qualifies
Earlier, PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy had reached the semi-finals of the Swiss Open badminton tournament with straight-game victories in their respective women and men singles on March 25 (Friday).
Sindhu defeated fifth seed Michelle Li of Canada 21-10, 21-19 in 36 minutes. Prannoy on the other hand, beat India’s Parupalli Kashyap 21-16, 21-16, in a quarter-final match that had lasted for 43 minutes.
