Kidambi Srikanth created historical past by changing into the primary Indian participant to achieve the finals of the World Championships by defeating Lakshya Sen 17-21, 21-14, 21-17 within the semi-finals of the BWF World Championships.
Faced with the swords in a historic match for Indian badminton, Srikanth took an early lead earlier than his youthful rival drew 2-2. Two extra factors and Srikanth was once more within the lead.
Then it was Sen’s flip to take an 8-7 lead however Srikanth instantly took an 8-8 lead.
The 20-year-old Sen once more took the lead and at 13-10, he appeared assured to maintain the tempo however Srikanth leveled at 16-16.
Sen dominated from there to seize the primary recreation and seize the initiative.
However, Srikanth returned to the competitors with a flurry of smashes within the second recreation and continued in the identical vein within the third recreation, whereas the 20-year-old placed on some first rate defensive efficiency to emerge victorious in a match that lasted 69. Minute.
En path to the semi-finals, Kidambi Srikanth took a simple prey in Mark Caljouw as he beat the Dutchman 21-8, 21-7 in 26 minutes. Lakshya Sen took on a cussed Chinese, Zhao Jun Peng, 21-15, 15-21, 22-20, displaying a stressed urge for food for a scrap which included crossing a match level – one he gained.
Between these two, Srikanth, a former world No. 1 and Lakshya, who’s making his world debut, knocked out 3 of the 4 Chinese in a draw and pounced on the medals on supply.
Two males’s singles medals had come to India within the final 38 years – Prakash Padukone in 1983 and B Sai Praneeth in 2019. This yr world No. 1 Japanese Kento Momota, two prime Chinese and Indonesian guys have been pulled out of a draw, after which a number of different prime tanners have been thrown out of a good and sq. recreation whereas enjoying detached badminton. But it was nonetheless the Indians who wanted to beat these in the way in which of their medals.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
