Articles by "Kidambi Srikanth"
Jakarta, Jul 2: Defending champion Kidambi Srikanth will look to find a chink in Kento Momota's armour when he locks horns with the in-form Japanese in the opening match of the USD 1,250,000 Indonesia Open World Tour Super 1000 badminton tournament starting here on Tuesday.
Two days ago, Srikanth was outwitted by the 22-year-old Momota en route to his final appearance at the Malaysian Open and the Indian will have to produce his top game to trouble the former world number 2 rival, who has been in sensational form since making a comeback after serving a one-year ban on charges of illegal gambling.
Momota, whose run of 21 successive wins was cut short by Malaysian legend Lee Chong Wei in the finals on Sunday, has defeated Srikanth six times in nine meetings, a statistic which the Indian will be keen to change.
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu, who also reached the semifinals last week, will look to continue her consistent performance when she opens the proceedings against Thailand's Pornpawee Chochuwong at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno here.
Two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Saina Nehwal, who made an opening-round exit in Malaysia, takes on Indonesia's Dinar Dyah Ayustine.
For 16-year-old Vaishnavi Reddy Jakka, it will be about gaining experience and confidence by putting a good show when she crosses swords with Denmark's Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt in her campaign opener.
In men's singles, H S Prannoy will have an arduous task of surpassing the legendary Lin Dan of China in his campaign opener, while Singapore Open champion B Sai Praneeth will face Chinese Taipei's Wang Tzu Wei for the second time in two weeks, hoping to outwit the world number 15 rival this time and cross the opening hurdle after an early exit in the last tournament.
After a first-round exit in Malaysia, Sameer Verma too will look to keep his campaign alive this week when he takes on Germany's Rasmus Gemke in the opening round.
In the men's doubles, Japanese combo of Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe will stand in the way of Commonwealth Games silver medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, while Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy will meet third seeds Chinese Liu Cheng and Zhang Nan.
Women's doubles pair of Jakkampudi Meghana and Poorvisha S Ram will fancy their chances when they square off against Indonesian pair of Agatha Imanuela and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti, while Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy will face tough test in their opening clash with fourth seeded Chinese duo of Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong. (PTI)
Kuala Lumpur, June 30: Kidambi Srikanth went down in straight games to in-form Kento Momota of Japan in the semifinals and bowed out of the USD 700,000 Malaysia Open Super World Tour 750 tournament here today.
Srikanth, who had reached world no 1 briefly in April, couldn't match the overall superior game of Momota, who has been in sensational form since making a comeback after serving a one year ban for illegal gambling.
After a 42-minute battle, Srikanth lost 13-21 13-21 to the world no 11 Momota, who registered his 21st consecutive win here.
Momota was quick on his feet and produced some excellent shots mixed with deception, to dominate the rallies. His smashes had power and precision to make life difficult for Srikanth.
Srikanth and Momota went neck and neck from 3-3 to 5-5 before the Japanese rode on his deception and better court coverage to open up a 10-7 lead. Srikanth won a good rally but the Japanese had his nose ahead at the break when Srikanth was bamboozled by a tight net shot.
The left-handed Japanese produced some superb shots from the back of the court to move to a 13-8 lead. Momota continued to accumulate points, surging to 17-12 thereafter.
Srikanth misjudged a shot at the back line to hand over game points to Momota, who sealed it with another precise net shot.
With Momota in full flow, the margin for error was miniscule and the Japanese pounced on every opportunity to lead 5-1 after the change of sides.
Srikanth built the rallies well but often erred with the length and miscued strokes as Momota moved into the breather at 11-5. The Japanese continued to rule the roost and quickly moved to seven match points when Srikanth found the net.
Another net error and it was over for the Indian. (PTI)
Hyderabad,
Nov 3: Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Governor E S L Narasimhan and Lady
Governor Ms Vimala Narasimhan on friday complimented Kidambi Srikanth and H S
Prannoy on their achieving No.2 and No.11 rankings respectively in the BWF
rankings.
The Governor while interacting with the World ranking Badminton players at Raj
Bhavan, said that the whole nation is proud of their achievements in the
Badminton sport.
Mr Narasimhan also said that with Indian Badminton players at the helm, the
country is now unbeatable in the World in the sport of Badminton.
The Governor wished that Kidambi Srikanth, the first Indian to win four Super
Series titles, should aim to reach World No.1 rank, very soon.
He also said that he wishes to see H S Prannoy, who won the US Open Grand Prix
Gold title to break into top 5 ranks in World Badminton rankings, soon.
The Governor couple also interacted with the badminton players and discussed
about their upcoming tournaments and their regular practice regimen.
While complimenting on their achievements, both the Governor and Lady Governor
wished the players to keep on winning the tournaments and keep the country’s
flag flying. UNI
