Srikanth secures victory against Japan's Naraoka in Kumamoto Masters

Experienced Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth has secured a victory against Japan's Kodai Naraoka with a brilliant performance at the ongoing Kumamoto Masters Super 500 badminton tournament in Japan, according to a report by The Hindu.

World number 31 Srikanth entered the quarter-finals by defeating the fifth seed and world number 8 player Naraoka with a score of 21-15, 11-21, 21-18. With this win, Srikanth will now face Japanese player Koki Watanabe, ranked 15th in the world. Notably, this is Srikanth's first win in his fifth encounter against Naraoka, a two-time silver medalist at the World Championships.

In the first game of the match, Naraoka initially attempted to gain control with an 8-4 lead, but Srikanth mounted a strong comeback to level the score at 9-9. Srikanth had secured a narrow one-point lead before taking a break in the first game. In the second half, the Japanese player moved ahead 14-12, but Srikanth subsequently secured seven consecutive points to claim the first game with a 19-14 lead.

In the second game, Naraoka mounted a strong comeback and kept Srikanth trailing throughout the game, leading the match to a third game. In the third game, both players were on equal footing until the score reached 7-7, after which Srikanth took an 11-7 lead during the interval. In the final stages of the match, Naraoka regained momentum and reduced the gap to 18-16, but Srikanth remained composed to finish the match. Srikanth defeated a skilled player like Naraoka through his strong defence and aggressive style.

Srikanth's form has been quite good this season. He defeated top players such as Malaysia's Paris Olympic bronze medallist Lee Zii Jia to reach the US Open final and also secured a win against Canada's world number 9 Victor Axelsen to reach the quarter-finals of the China Masters Super 750 in September.

On the other hand, speaking of India's other successes in this tournament, eighth seed Lakshya Sen has reached the quarter-finals by defeating China's Dong Tianyao with a score of 21-8, 21-14. Lakshya Sen is currently ranked 10th in the BWF World Tour Rankings and needs to secure a position in the top eight to qualify for the season-ending tournament to be held in China. Lakshya will now face Japan's Yushi Tanaka at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium.

However, in the women's doubles, the Indian pair Trisha Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand faced a disappointing result. The pair, who won their first bronze at the World Championships in New Delhi, had to face defeat against Japan's third seed Rin Evanaga and Ki Nakanishi with a score of 14-21, 14-21.

Kidambi Srikanth has previously been the world number 1. He won a silver medal at the 2021 World Championships and has been representing India at the international level for a long time.