Kidambi Srikanth Reaches Quarter Finals of Swiss Open

The World No. 12, who missed the India leg of the BWF tour in January after getting diagnosed with Covid-19 managed to overturn the odds to win a match that initially was going to be to beat Mads Christophersen in the first round and then he beat the 60th ranked Popov. Srikanth won 13-21, 25-23, 21-11. The seventh-ranked Indian will tackle second-seeded Dane Anders Antonsen in the quarter-final. 

Srikanth Delivers a near perfect first Game

The young Indian star handed over the first 13-21 to Popov but saved a couple of match points in the second one before securing a win. The match started off with Srikanth trailing 9-4 against Christo Popov of France. Twelve minutes later, the Frenchman completely outdid the Indian athlete for 13-21. However, Srikanth regained momentum in the second match where he managed to narrow lead. 

Although the score was 23-23, the Indian shuttler fought hard and won valuable two points to end it at 25-23. His dominion over the match started at the advent of the third set. In the decider, he led 11-8 at the change of sides, which increased his chances of winning. Despite acing the first two sets, Popov couldn't pull through as Srikanth concluded the set in 21-11 to enter the quarter-final. 

Other Indians in the Cut

All England Championships finalist Lakshya Sen's absence in the tournament has disheartened fans. He is exhausted after back to back events which is why he backed out of Swiss Open 2022. However, double Olympic medalist PV Sindhu, who is also a quarter-finalist now alongside Srikanth will be looking to make a mark in their respective men's and women's tournaments. 

The second-seeded icon defeated World No. 30 Neslihan Yigit of Turkey 21-19, 21-14 in 42 minutes and grabbed a spot in the final eight. PV Sindhu had exited both the German Open and All England Championships in the early stages while Srikanth had reached the last 8 at Muelheim an der Ruhr. Meanwhile, former Commonwealth Games gold medalist Parupalli Kashyap followed suit after defeating Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen, who had defeated Srikanth in the previous Swiss Open edition. 

Third seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty failed to clinch victory against Indonesian pairing of Pramudya Kusumawardana and Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob Rambitan in the men's doubles. In the women's singles, Ashmita Chaliha lost to eighth-seeded Scot Kirsty Gilmour 18-21 20-22 in the second round. Additionally, World No. 25 Saina Nehwal couldn't beat World No. 64 Kisona Selvaduray of Malaysia and took an exit thereafter. In contrast, the women's doubles pair comprising of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy bettered the efforts of local pair Aline Muller and Jenjira Stadelmann 21-15 21-16 in straight games.