Kidambi Srikanth turns back the clock to knock out Victor Lai at the China Masters

The day after Lakshya Sen lost to Victor Lai at the China Masters, veteran Kidambi Srikanth defeated the world No. 9 Canadian in straight games in the round of 16. Srikanth put up a great show, winning 21-18, 21-19 in Shenzhen on Thursday, September 3. in 43 minutes.

Srikanth celebrated the biggest win of his season by punching the air in joy, ensuring that India’s men’s singles challenge in the prestigious Super 750 tournament remained alive.

It was Srikanth’s first win over a top-10 player on tour this year and the first time he reached the quarter-finals of a Super 500 or higher. Srikanth came up with a consistent show, never allowing Victor Lai to dominate proceedings on Court 3. The former world number one was willing to flaunt her class and deft touches with Lai at the net to win points. The 33-year-old took care of the long lift and took away a lot of attacking options from the Canadian.

Srikanth trailed 11-15 in the opening game but produced a dominant run of five points to take the lead. He used the momentum that came his way to race forward and win the opening game. Playing the second game from a closer side, Srikanth initially struggled to adjust to the conditions, trailing 10-14 and 15-18, but closed the gap to ensure that the decider was not played out.

Srikanth converted defense into attack admirably well, while his dominance in the forecourt helped him overcome Lai, who is in red-hot form after winning his second World Championship medal in New Delhi recently.

It was heartening to see Srikanth showing glimpses of his old self, especially after missing out on the World Cup at home. Ranked 33rd, Srikanth has had a tough year, winning 13 matches and losing as many. Amid a string of early exits, Srikanth showed flashes of form when he reached the final of the US Open Super 300 in June.

A good run at the China Masters will give Srikanth a lot of confidence ahead of this year’s Asian Games. While he will not play singles in the individual events, Srikanth’s experience will be crucial to India’s chances of a medal in the team event at the quadrennial multi-sport event in Japan.

TANVI SHARMA LOSES

However, there was disappointment in the women’s singles as rising star Tanvi Sharma lost to world number nine Tomoka Miyazaki in a marathon second-round match that lasted one hour and six minutes. Tanvi won the opening game 21-17 but was outclassed in the next two 18-21, 16-21. In the decider, Tanvi led by a point at the break but fell behind 13-17, a margin that was too big to close.

Hailing from Punjab, 17-year-old Tanvi has had a breakout season, winning the Taipei Open Super 300 in July and overcoming early hurdles in the majors.

Tanvi’s defeat ended India’s challenge in the women’s singles as Unnati Hooda and Devika Shaig lost earlier in Shenzhen.

Earlier on Thursday, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto lost to Liu Kuang Heng and Hsu Yin-Hui of Taipei in the mixed doubles pre-quarterfinals.

Later in the day, fifth seeds Satwiksiraj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will be in action against the Popov brothers in the men’s doubles pre-quarterfinals.

– The end

Issued by:

Akshay Ramesh

Published on:

03 Sep 2026 12:21 IST