Calgary, July 5 || India’s Kidambi Srikanth continued his fine form by advancing to the semifinal at the Canada Open Super 300 badminton tournament with a commanding straight-game win over top seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei.
The former world championship silver medallist, who was a finalist at the Malaysia Masters in May, outplayed world No. 6 Chen 21-18, 21-9 in a 43-minute quarterfinal clash on Saturday (IST).
Srikanth outclasses Chinese Taipei’s Wang Po-Wei 21-19, 21-14 in 40 minutes to setup his quarterfinal clash against Chou Tien Chen.
Currently ranked 49th in the world, Srikanth will now face Japan’s third seed Kenta Nishimoto for a spot in the final.
Srikanth holds a 6-4 lead in the head-to-head record against the 30-year-old Kenta Nishimoto. The Indian had defeated the Japanese shuttler in straight games at the last World Championships - despite Nishimoto often posing challenges for other Indian players. Known for his dogged court coverage, Nishimoto has been a consistent performer this season.
He earned his semifinal spot with a hard-fought 21-15, 5-21, 21-17 win over India’s Sankar Muthusamy Subramaniam.