Kidambi Srikanth Beats Victor Lai to Reach China Masters Last Eight

Kidambi Srikanth produced a straight-games upset over world No. 9 Victor Lai to reach the men’s singles quarterfinals of the China Masters Super 750 in Shenzhen on Thursday. The veteran Indian won 21-18, 21-19 against the Canadian, overturning deficits in both games to secure a place in the last eight.

Srikanth, 33, will next face Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu. The result continues a strong spell for the former world No. 1, who reached the US Open Super 300 final earlier this year. Lai arrived in the contest after winning a second World Championships bronze in New Delhi last month and had also claimed his maiden Super 1000 title in Indonesia this year.

Srikanth fights back in both games

The opening game was closely contested from the outset. After the score stood at 3-3, Srikanth slipped behind 3-7 before recovering to level at 8-8 as Lai made a series of unforced errors. Lai carried a two-point advantage into the interval and later appeared to establish control, using his smashes to move 15-11 ahead.

Srikanth responded when the game was in danger of getting away from him. He pushed one to the backline, followed with a jump-smash winner and then outwitted Lai at the net. When Lai found the net, the score was level at 15-15. Srikanth then struck a cross-court smash to lead 18-16, before creating three game points with a net shot. He converted his second opportunity as Lai again hit the net, taking the first game 21-18.

The second game followed a similar pattern, with Srikanth required to chase. He fell 5-9 behind after a sequence of unforced errors and later trailed 9-14. From there, two smashes from Srikanth and a couple of net errors from Lai brought the Indian back to 13-14. An attacking cross-court return narrowed the gap further at 14-15.

Srikanth continued to apply pressure and drew level at 18-18. Lai went long before Srikanth placed the shuttle into the forehand corner to earn match points. Lai then sprayed wide, allowing Srikanth to complete the 21-19 second game and celebrate his quarterfinal place.

Tanvi Sharma and Indian mixed doubles pair exit

India’s Tanvi Sharma was unable to join Srikanth in the quarterfinals after losing a hard-fought women’s singles second-round match to Japan’s world No. 9 Tomoka Miyazaki. Sharma, the recent Taipei Open World Tour Super 300 champion, went down 17-21, 21-18, 16-21.

Sharma recovered from the first-game loss to force a decider, winning the second 21-18. However, she was unable to sustain that comeback at the back end of the match as Miyazaki took the deciding game 21-16.

In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto also exited the tournament. The Indian pair lost 18-21, 18-21 to Chinese Taipei’s Liu Kuang Heng and Hsu Yin Hui.

Srikanth’s win is the standout Indian result from the day at the Super 750 event. His ability to recover from 15-11 down in the first game and 9-14 down in the second proved decisive against a top-10 opponent, setting up his next challenge against Lee Cheuk Yiu in the China Masters quarterfinals.