Basel, Mar 25: Kidambi Srikanth’s Swiss Open 2024 journey came to an unfortunate end as India’s ace shuttler suffered defeat in the men’s singles semi-finals at the St. Jakobshalle arena in Basel.
Srikanth lost 21-15, 9-21, 18-21 against world No. 22 Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei in the last-four match, which lasted one hour and five minutes.
This was Srikanth’s first BWF semi-final appearance since November 2022.
The former world number one Indian badminton player started the match off on a high note, winning the opening game 21-15 because of his offensive smashes and excellent net play.
However, in the second game, the 31-year-old Srikanth struggled to keep up with his opponent. Despite Srikanth’s 4-1 advantage in the second game, Chun-Yi swiftly made it 6-5.
When the score at 7-10, the Chinese Taipei shuttler went on to win seven straight points, putting the game out of Srikanth’s reach.
In the decider, Chun-Yi went on to take an aggressive approach early, taking a 4-1 lead. However, Srikanth had a slim 11-10 advantage at the halfway point.
The highly contested game was neck and neck until the finish when Chun-Yi broke away with three straight points with the score knotted at 16-16. Srikanth also made a few unforced errors, allowing his opponent to gain control of the game and win the tie.
Srikanth was the only remaining Indian shuttler in the Swiss Open. Priyanshu Rajawat and Kiran George were eliminated in the quarterfinals, while Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also failed to advance. PV Sindhu’s performance in women’s singles concluded in the second round.