Malaysia Masters: Despite his title drought continuing, shuttler Kidambi Srikanth ended a phenomenal campaign with a runner-up finish at the Malaysia Masters Super on Sunday, losing the men’s singles final in straight games to China’s world No. 4 Li Shi Feng.
The 32-year-old, who charted a long road back from injuries and missed opportunities, made his first BWF World Tour final in six years, starting from the qualifiers and riding a resurgent wave all the way to the title clash of the BWF 500 tournament.
The former world No. 1 was erratic and struggled to break through the second-seeded Li’s solid defence and was unable to convert openings, eventually losing in 11-21 9-21 in 36 minutes.
“It has been pretty good week. It’s my third tournament, played decently well in the first two as well but couldn’t really win those matches. But pretty happy with the way how it went so far. Not exactly the way I wanted to be today but still I think he played really well,” Srikanth said as quoted by PTI.
“I’m just very happy to be back playing again. I just want to keep myself happy. There was a point in my career where I was pretty used to being standing there and then it’s been a while. So to be back again on the podium really feels special.”
Despite the loss, it was an inspirational show from Srikanth, who, after slipping to world No. 82 earlier this month, showed grit and class to remind the world of his calibre.
Srikanth was error-prone in the early exchanges, gifting away points that allowed Li Shi Feng to pull ahead 6-3.
A straight smash to the Indian’s backhand took Li to 8-5, and although Srikanth replied with a 402kph thunderbolt, a netted smash gave the Chinese a five-point cushion going into the mid-game interval.
Unforced errors continued to hurt Srikanth. Two loose shots went long, and Li responded with a precise crosscourt winner to make it 14-8. Srikanth showed glimpses of brilliance with a net kill and a swift forehand cross to trail 10-16, but couldn’t string together momentum.
A 22-shot rally at 10-17 ended with Srikanth pushing the shuttle long, and Li closed out the opening game in just 16 minutes with consecutive down-the-line smashes.
In the second game, Srikanth played better but his inconsistency persisted. Despite engaging in tight rallies, he often went wide or long, while Li dictated the tempo, hitting anything that his opponent lifted in his arc.
A powerful crosscourt smash helped Li go into the interval leading 11-5, leaving the Indian a mountain to climb. Srikanth did craft a beautiful reverse drop after a grueling 46-shot rally at 5-12, and produced an elegant crosscourt winner at 8-18. But such moments were few.
Li stepped on the gas, scoring on both flanks to reach 18-7. A sharp net interception brought the Chinese within two points, and back-to-back smashes sealed his victory and the title.