Kidambi Srikanth’s China Masters run ends in defeat to Lee Cheuk Yiu

Kidambi Srikanth’s impressive run at the China Masters 2026 came to an end on Friday when Lee Cheuk Yiu defeated the former world number one 21-16, 21-16 in the quarter-finals. The Indian was unable to extend his campaign at the BWF World Tour Super 750 event in Shenzhen.

Srikanth started the opening game with two quick points but Lee soon settled into the match and gained control. The Hong Kong shuttler maintained their dominance for the rest of the game, with Srikanth making a late challenge that ultimately came too late to change the result.

The second game offered more opportunities for Srikanth to turn the match around. He raced out to a 4-0 lead, but surrendered the advantage with four consecutive unforced errors, allowing Lee to get back in front. Srikanth continued to battle and produced some sensational points to take a 15-14 lead, but Lee responded strongly and eventually closed out the match in straight games.

The result also extended Lee’s lead in their head-to-head record, with Srikanth now on a four-match losing streak. His only win against a player from Hong Kong came in the opening round of the 2018 India Open.

SRIKANTHA’S BEST RUN IN THREE YEARS

Despite the quarter-final exit, Srikanth’s campaign represented an important step forward. It was his first quarter-final appearance at a BWF World Tour Super 750 or higher event in three years, who entered the tournament without reaching this stage at this level in that period.

Srikanth began his China Masters campaign with a convincing 21-16, 21-15 victory over world No.21 Chi Yu-yen of Chinese Taipei in just 35 minutes. He then achieved one of the remarkable results of the tournament, defeating world number nine Victor Lai 21–18, 21–19 in the round of 16.

The win over Lai raised expectations about Srikanth’s prospects in Shenzhen, especially after the Canadian recently defeated India’s Lakshya Sen to arrive at the tournament off a bronze medal at the BWF World Championships.

However, Lee proved too strong in the quarter-finals and brought Srikanth’s campaign to an end. Still, Srikanth’s ride earned him a quarter-final berth at one of the biggest events of the BWF World Tour season.

– The end

Issued by:

Debodinna Chakraborty

Published on:

04 Sep 2026 09:31 IST