Huelva: Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth became the first Indian man to reach the final of the BWF World Championships after defeating compatriot Lakshya Sen 17-21, 21-14, 21-17 in the semifinal encounter in Spain on Saturday.
The enthralling all-Indian men’s singles semi-final lasted an hour and nine minutes, making it a grueling match. Kidambi, who appeared to be tired after winning the last point against Sen, dropped to the ground.
Even in the game’s most difficult scenarios, both players matched each other’s aggressive purpose. Kidambi showed grit as he recovered his composure to come back from a 17-21 deficit in the opening game.
TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2021
MS – Semi final
17 21 21 🇮🇳Srikanth KIDAMBI🏅
21 14 17 🇮🇳Lakshya SEN🕗 in 69 minutes
https://t.co/DZvThQwzo2— BWFScore (@BWFScore) December 18, 2021
Kidambi clinched a surprising victory by winning important points and battling through difficult rallies in the second and third games.
The victory will instil much-needed confidence in the current world number 14 player. After winning four Super Series tournaments in 2017, he was forced to withdraw from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics due to injuries and poor condition.
Sen, on the other hand, joined an elite group of Indian men’s badminton medalists in the World Championships, despite the heartbreaking loss. He joined the ranks of other medalists in the event, including Prakash Padukone (bronze in 1983) and B Sai Praneeth (bronze in 2019).
Kidambi is also guaranteed at least a silver medal, which will be India’s first in men’s singles. In the final, he will face Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew.
