Kidambi Srikanth on Sunday suffered a heartbreaking defeat against Loh Kean Yew of Singapore to settle for silver in the BWF World Championships in Huelva.
World No. 15 Srikanth lost against the 22nd-ranked Loh Kean Yew 15-21, 20-22 in just 42 minutes to end up as the runner-up.This was Srikanth’s first defeat against Loh Kean Yew but he has become the first Indian male player to win a silver medal at the world championships.
Srikanth’s only meeting against Loh Kean Yew before this final came at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 where the Indian shutter was able to clinch a victory in straight games.Overall, Srikanth is the third Indian male to win a medal at this prestigious tournament after Prakash padukone (1983), B Sai Praneeth (2019), Lakshya Sen (2021).Srikanth had defeated compatriot Lakshya 17-21, 21-14, 21-17 in the semifinals in a marathon match on Saturday to become the first Indian male player to reach the BWF World Championships final.
The former World No. 1, who had won 4 Superseries titles in 2017, hadn’t won anything on the tour since. He was struggling for form but the Indian has bounced back to win the silver medal at the biggest of all stages.
On the other hand, Loh Kean Yew, the 24-year-old, has won Singapore its first World Championships gold medal in men’s singles. Keep in mind, Malaysia, which has a rich badminton history, doesn’t have a men’s singles gold medal.
