Huelva: India’s Kidambi Srikanth lost 15-21, 20-22 to Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew in the men’s singles final of the BWF World Championships in Huelva, Spain on Sunday and settled for silver. Though Srikanth became the first Indian man to take home a silver medal from the competition, with the previous best result by an Indian man being a bronze medal — Prakash Padukone (1983), HS Prannoy (2019, Lakshya Sen (2021).
Srikanth seized a 9-3 lead in the opening game of the final on Sunday, but Loh battled back to reclaim the lead after the mid-game break before winning the game 21-15. The second game was a nail-biter between the two teams until Loh came out on top 22-20.
Following defeating compatriot Lakshya Sen in the semi-finals on Saturday, Srikanth, 28, became the first Indian male shuttler to reach the final of the championship. In a dramatic one-hour-and-nine-minute match on Saturday, the former world No. 1 defeated Sen 17-21, 21-14, 21-17. Lakshya Sen received a bronze medal at the event.
