Kuala Lumpur, May 24
Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth advanced to his first men’s singles final at a BWF event in six years with a straight-game victory over Japan’s Yushi Tanaka at the Malaysia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament on Saturday.
The 32-year-old, a silver medallist at the 2023 World Championships, produced a stellar performance, displaying flashes of his vintage form with sharp net play and aggressive shot-making to overcome world No. 23 Tanaka 21-18, 24-22 in a gripping encounter.
This marks Srikanth’s first BWF World Tour final appearance since he finished runner-up at the 2019 India Open. His last title came in 2017, a year which saw him lift four silverwares.
Once ranked world No. 1, Srikanth has slipped to 65th in the rankings, having battled a dip in form and fitness in recent years.
Expressing his excitement of reaching the final after a six-year hiatus, Srikanth said, "Pretty happy".
"Physically I've been feeling well, but also the fact that I haven't played tonight or this last year, playing qualifying, so maybe kind of lost that touch of playing matches. Somehow everything works well this time.