Kidambi Srikanth defeats World No. 6 Chou Tien-Chen to enter Canada Open 2025 semifinals

Srikanth, on the comeback trail after a challenging injury phase, sealed a straight-game victory 21-18, 21-9 in a commanding display of experience and resilience, wrapping up the victory in just 43 minutes.

This marks Srikanth's second BWF World Tour semifinal of the season, following his runner-up finish at the Malaysia Masters Super 500 earlier this year.

After losing the opening game in his first-round match against compatriot Priyanshu Rajawat, the 31-year-old has not dropped a game since, signalling a strong return to form.

Srikanth will next face Japan's Kenta Nishimoto, the third seed, who got past India's S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian in a hard-fought quarterfinal. The 21-year-old Subramanian displayed grit and promise but fell short against the higher-ranked opponent 15-21, 21-5, 17-21.

In women's singles, Shriyanshi Valishetty's spirited run came to an end in the quarterfinals. The 18-year-old pushed Amalie Schulz to the brink in a three-game thriller but eventually lost 21-12, 19-21, 19-21, wrapping up a memorable campaign.

Earlier in the tournament, Indian shuttlers produced dominant displays to advance to the quarterfinals at the ongoing Canada Open 2025, with Kidambi Srikanth, Shriyanshi Valishetty, and S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian all registering straight-game wins in their respective Round of 16 clashes.

Up against world No. 71 Wang Po-Wei of Chinese Taipei at the Markham Pan Am Centre, Kidambi Srikanth won his pre-quarterfinal match 21-19, 21-14.

The Indian badminton player trailed 18-13 at one stage before coming from behind to win the first game. Srikanth was also 13-10 behind in the second game but recovered to win it and went on to close out the match in 41 minutes.

Srikanth, who finished as runners-up at the Malaysia Masters in May, defeated top seed and Olympian Chou Tien-Chen of Chinese Taipei in the quarter-finals. (ANI)