India had a mixed but encouraging day at the LI-NING China Masters on Thursday, with Kidambi Srikanth and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty making it to the quarter-finals of the Super 750 tournament.
Srikanth produced the biggest result of the day for India, beating World No. 9 Victor Lai 21-18, 21-19 in 43 minutes in the men’s singles Round of 16. It was a special win for the former world No. 1, which was also visible in his celebration.
The 33-year-old showed great control against the Canadian and never allowed him to settle. Srikanth trailed 11-15 in the opening game but responded with five straight points to take the lead and eventually win the game. The second game was just as close, with Lai leading 18-16 before Srikanth once again fought back to finish the match in straight games in a 43-minute battle.
The victory was important for Srikanth as the result could give the Indian veteran a much-needed boost ahead of the Asian Games. He will now face World No. 25 Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong, who has defeated Srikanth thrice in their previous four meetings.
Satwik and Chirag also booked their place in the last eight after surviving a tough battle against France’s Christo Popov and Toma Junior Popov. The fifth seeds won 21-17, 22-24, 21-9 in 69 minutes.
The Indians controlled the opening game and took it 21-17. The Popov brothers fought back in the second, saving key points and eventually winning it 24-22 after a tense finish.
Satwik and Chirag then raised their level in the decider. They raced to an 11-5 lead and never looked back, closing out the game 21-9.
They will now face Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in the quarter-finals, who have beaten the star Indian duo six times in their previous 10 meetings.
There was disappointment for India in women’s singles as Tanvi Sharma lost to World No. 9 Tomoka Miyazaki 21-17, 18-21, 16-21. Tanvi started strongly but could not maintain her lead as Miyazaki fought back to win the next two games.
Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto also exited after losing 18-21, 18-21 to Liu Kuang Heng and Hsu Yin Hui from Chinese Taipei in the mixed doubles Round of 16.
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