Madrid: Kidambi Srikanth inscribed a new chapter in the history of Indian badminton by becoming the first male Indian shuttler to enter the BWF World Championships in Huelva on Saturday.
The 28-year-old former world number one Srikanth defeated Lakshya Sen by 17-21, 21-14,21-17in a thriller that lasted for one hour and nine minutes.
Srikanth will now fight for the gold match against the winner of the second semi-final, which is to be played between Denmark’s Anders Antonsen and Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew.
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Lakshya Sen chasing the game at the start entered the first game interval with an 11-8 lead, but Srikanth soon leveled the game at 17-17 after the resumption. Following it, Sen took four straight points to wrap up the first game.
Displaying brilliant net play at the starting of the second game, Sen raced to 8-4, but his senior compatriot fought back strongly and took the two-point at the mid-game break. With his side’s game, Srikanth widens the gap with a 16-12 lead.
The 20-year-old Sen tried to come back in the game, but Srikanth held his nerves to force the decider. The third game went back and forth as both shuttlers found themselves level at 7-7. But it was the unseeded Indian who took the three points advantage in the mid-game interval of the deciding game. After the change of ends, Srikanth clawed his way back into the game by leveling the score at 13-13 and soon took the lead at 19-16. Then he held his nerve to seal the spot in the summit clash.
The former world number one will be the first Indian to play the men’s singles final. Earlier, Prakash Padukone in 1983 and Sri Praneeth in 2019 have lost in the Worlds’ semi-finals.
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