Srikanth enters quarterfinals of Canada Open Super 300

Calgary, Jul 3 (PTI) India’s Kidambi Srikanth progressed to the men’s singles quarterfinals at the Canada Open Super 300 badminton tournament with a straight-game win over Chinese Taipei’s Wang Po-Wei here on Thursday.

Srikanth, a 2021 World Championships silver medallist and the 2022 Thomas Cup winner, prevailed over world number 71 Wang 21-19, 21-12.

The Indian was trailing for most of the opening game, fighting back from 5-11 down to draw parity at 18-18. He then pocketed the game by winning three of the next four points.

In the second game, Wang raced to a 6-1 lead but Srikanth turned the tables with a seven-point burst to go up 8-6.

The Taipei shuttler regained a slender one-point lead at the break and moved ahead 13-10, but Srikanth once again surged with nine straight points to take the match away from his opponent. He sealed the contest comfortably thereafter.

The world number 49, who had reached the final of the Malaysia Masters in May this year, is likely to face Chinese Taipei’s top seed Chou Tien Chen next. PTI ATK UNG