SEASONED shuttler Kidambi Srikanth kept India's hopes alive by entering the men's singles semifinals of the Malaysia Masters badminton tournament after a hard-fought three-game clash with Toma Junior Popov of France in Kuala Lumpur on Friday (23).
The 32-year-old, currently ranked 65th, displayed immense fighting spirit to outwit the 26-year-old Frenchman, ranked 18, 24-22 17-21 22-20 in a contest that lasted one hour and 14 minutes.
Srikanth will take on Yushi Tanaka of Japan in the last four round, which will be his first semifinal appearance in over a year.
The former world number 1 and a silver medallist at the World Championships and Asian Games has been battling injuries and poor form in the past few seasons.
Srikanth has now become the first Indian singles player this year to reach a Super 500 semifinal or above.
Tanaka defeated France's Christo Popov, brother of Toma Junior, 21-18 16-21 21-6 in another men's singles quarterfinal duel on Saturday.
Srikanth is now the lone surviving Indian in the tournament after the exit of the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto in the quarterfinals on Friday (23).
Kapila and Crasto gave top seed Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin of China a tough fight in the first game, but lost steam in the next to bow out 22-24 13-21 in a 35-minute affair.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Indian cricket player Virat Kohli celebrates after scoring a half-century (50 runs) during the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on March 28, 2026Getty Images
Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Krunal Pandya celebrates after taking the wicket of Punjab Kings' Josh Inglis during the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 final cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on June 3, 2025. Getty Images
