Senior Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth advanced to his first men’s singles final of a BWF event in six years by defeating Japan’s Yushi Tanaka in straight games at the Malaysia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament on Saturday.
The 32-year-old, a silver medallist at the 2021 World Championships, delivered an exceptional performance, showcasing flashes of his vintage best with precise net play and offensive skill to outsmart world number 23 Tanaka 21-18 24-22 in a captivating match.
Srikanth’s first final in six years
This marks Srikanth’s first final appearance on the BWF World Tour since he was the runner-up at the 2019 India Open. He had won four titles in 2017.
Once a world number one, Srikanth has fallen to world number 65 and has faced a prolonged tough patch in recent years due to issues with form and fitness.
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Srikanth’s last international title was at the 2017 French Open
The most recent occasion when Srikanth claimed an international title was at the 2017 French Open of the BWF Superseries.
In the final match, the Indian badminton player will compete against the victor of the other semifinal match between Japan’s world No. 8 Kodai Naraoka and Li Shifeng from the People’s Republic of China, who is presently ranked fourth.
In the Saturday’s match against Tanaka, Srikanth was down 9-4 in the first game but turned things around to seize the advantage. A comparable tale unfolded in the second game, though with slightly more excitement.
Tanaka was ahead 9-3 before Srikanth staged another comeback in the second game. On this occasion, the Japanese player succeeded in saving a match point and created a game point chance for himself at 21-20.
This is the first occasion in 2025 when an Indian has made it to the final of a BWF World Tour event.
