Singapore Open 2023 Badminton: India's campaign ends with Kidambi Srikanth's dismissal

In a disappointing turn of events for Indian badminton fans, Kidambi Srikanth's journey at the Singapore Open 2023 badminton came to an end as he suffered a defeat by Chinese Taipei's Lee Cha Hao in the pre-quarterfinal on Thursday. Srikanth's exit marked the conclusion of India's campaign in the prestigious badminton tournament.

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Kidambi Srikanth, a former world number one and one of India's most prominent shuttlers, faced tough opposition from his Chinese Taipei counterpart, Lee Cha Hao. Despite putting up a valiant fight, Srikanth was unable to overcome Hao's relentless attacking play and went down in straight games with a score of 15-21, 19-21. World No.23 Srikanth began his campaign with a 21-15, 21-19 victory against Kantaphon Wangchaoren but couldn't maintain his rhythm against his Chinese Taipei opponent.

The match started on a competitive note, with both players showcasing their skills and exchanging powerful shots. However, Hao's agility and precision allowed him to take three points on the trot. Hao then went up 8-5 in the first game. Srikanth makes a net-error as Hao enters the interval with a two-point lead. After that, from 14-12, Hao with four points on the trot extends his lead to 18-12. Hao hits then another shot that falls well within the baseline as he wins the first game 21-15.

In the second game, Hao continues to maintain his lead by 6-3. But, Srikanth came back into the game with four successive points and took 9-7 lead. Srikanth took the advantage as Hao did some net-errors to help the Indian enter the interval with a three point lead. The Indian shuttler then begins the second-half of the second game with three straight points as his leads swells to 14-8.

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From 12-19, Hao makes a comeback with six straight points and reduces his deficit to just a solitary point. After that, Hao levels the score 19-19 witrh a cross-court smash. With a backhand shot wide off Srikanth, Hao makes a terrific comeback and wins the contest in straight games.

Srikanth's exit at the pre-quarterfinal stage dashed India's hopes of securing a podium finish at the Singapore Open 2023 badminton. Earlier on Thursday, Indian shuttler Priyanshu Rajawat lost to Kodai Naraoka by 21-17, 21-16. Later, India's Men's Doubles pair MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila also suffered straight-sets exit.