Kidambi Srikanth stuns third seed Ka Long Angus to storm into Hylo Open semi-finals
It was third time lucky for Kidambi Srikanth against Ng Ka Long Angus. The formidable Hong Kong star had won two previous outings against Kidambi Srikanth. He had a major psychological advantage in Saarbrucken, Germany, on Friday.
However, Srikanth turned the tables on third seed Ka Long Angus to storm into the Hylo Open BWF World Tour Super 500 badminton tournament semi-finals.
Sixth seed Srikanth stunned the world No. 9 Ka Long Angus 21-11, 12-21, 21-19 in an exciting men’s singles quarter-final that lasted 64 minutes.
World No. 15 Srikanth got off to a perfect start with a quick-fire 21-11 win in the first game. The way Srikanth dominated his higher-ranked opponent initially it looked like he would wrap up the match soon.
However, the Hong Kong star staged a remarkable comeback in the second game to stay in contention.
After losing momentum in the second game, Srikanth regained his touch in the decider. Both Srikanth and Ka Long Angus dominated each game but the decider was fought on an even keel.
Former world No. 1 Srikanth could have sealed the fate of the Hong Kong shuttler much earlier but he failed to utilize four match points. Finally, Srikanth converted his fifth match point to record a memorable win.
With a hard-fought victory, Srikanth leveled the head-to-head record with 3-3 against Angus.
Srikanth to face Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia in semis
Srikanth will square off against second seed Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia for a spot in the final on Saturday. It will be Srikanth’s first meeting against world No. 8 Malaysian.
Lee Zii Jia overcame a late challenge from eighth seed Kantaphon Wangcharoen of Thailand 21-13, 22-20 in the other quarters.
Lakshya Sen to take on Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn
Meanwhile, Lakshya Sen will take on Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the quarter-final later in the evening.
Thailand’s Kunlavut, ranked 24 in the world, is leading the head-to-head record with 3-2. The Thai player has won the last two encounters played between them.
World No. 21 Lakshya Sen shocked fourth seed Wang Tzu Wei of Chinese Taipei 21-17, 21-15 in the second round on Thursday night. 20-year-old Lakshya played exceptionally well to knock out the world No. 11 in 37 minutes.
With this win, Lakshya also avenged his previous defeat against the Chinese Taipei star.
On the other hand, Kunlavut also reached the quarter-finals with a brilliant win in the second round. The Thai shuttler surprised seventh seed Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong, China, in straight games on Thursday.