Kidambi Srikanth pulls off stunning upset, Satwik-Chirag reach China Masters quarterfinals

Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth produced a stunning comeback to upset world No. 9 Victor Lai of Canada, while the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty battled a mid-match slump to reach the quarterfinals of the China Masters Super 750 badminton tournament in Shenzhen on Thursday.There was disappointment, however, for young Tanvi Sharma and the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto.Tanvi fought hard against Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki but went down 17-21, 21-18, 16-21.Dhruv and Tanisha suffered an 18-21, 18-21 defeat to Liu Kuang Heng and Hsu Yin Hui of Chinese Taipei.Srikanth, the 2021 World Championships silver medallist, displayed remarkable fighting spirit to overcome World Championships bronze medallist Lai 21-18, 21-19.Later, he said: “I was only thinking about what I have been doing throughout the match and what I need to do going forward.”Srikanth added: “He has been playing well for the last 12-14 months. But I felt I’ll have my chances if I can play my best. I wasn’t thinking about how he has been playing. I was only thinking about how I should play.”Srikanth will next take on Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu for a place in the semifinals.Meanwhile, Satwiksairaj and Chirag overcame a determined challenge from Frenchmen Christo Popov and Toma Junior Popov to register a 21-15, 22-24, 21-9 victory.They now face the Danish pair of Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in the quarterfinals.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.