Kidambi Srikanth’s wait for a BWF World Tour title was extended further as he went down to Chinese Taipei’s Su Li Yang in the semifinals of the US Open Super 300 tournament on Sunday.
The 33-year-old, facing an opponent nine years his junior, searched for the momentum that had carried him through the tournament but eventually succumbed to a 21-15, 16-21, 21-9 defeat in one hour and nine minutes.
Su got off the blocks fast in the opening game as he took a 10-5 lead. Srikanth levelled the scores at 10-10 before the Taipei shuttler won seven consecutive points to run away with the game.
Srikanth kept pace with Su in the second game for the first half and then changed the tempo to move from 15-13 to 20-13 before converting his fourth game point. However, the effort did take a toll on Srikanth’s tired legs.
Though the former world number one stayed neck-and-neck with Su till 9-7, the 24-year-old then took eight straight points to seal the match.
En route to the final, Srikanth produced the tournament’s ultimate act of sportsmanship during a tense semifinal moment; when officials refused to correct a wrong call despite heavy protests, he walked up to the referee to concede, handing the point back to Japan’s Okimoto.
