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Former world no. 1 Kidambi Srikanth and the star men's doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty delivered sensational performances to storm into the quarterfinals of the China Masters Super 750 on Thursday.
Srikanth pulled off a stunning upset over Canadian World No. 9 and recent World Championship bronze medallist Victor Lai, winning 21-18, 21-19. Showcasing tactical brilliance in their maiden meeting, Srikanth clawed his way back from an 11-15 deficit in the opening game before snatching the final three points from 18-19 down in the second to seal the victory. The win secures Srikanths first Super 750 quarterfinal berth since 2021, where he will face Hong Kongs Lee Cheuk Yiu. Srikanth avenged Lakshya Sen's defeat which he suffered against Victor Lai in the opening round. The world No. 13 Lakshya suffered a 21-14, 21-7 defeat to Canada's world No. 9 Victor Lai in a 38-minute contest. The result capped another inconsistent outing for Lakshya this season. The 25-year-old had reached the All England Open final in March but has struggled to maintain that momentum, including a second-round exit at last month's World Championships in New Delhi. The world no. 34 Srikanth had beaten Chinese Taipei's world No. 21 Chi Yu-jen 21-16, 21-15 in the opening round match that lasted for 35 minutes at the BWF Super 750 event. In mens doubles, former World No. 1 pair Satwik-Chirag held off France's Toma Junior Popov and Christo Popov 21-17, 22-24, 21-9. After the French pair snatched a tense second game, the Smash Bros stamped their authority in the decider, opening a 6-1 lead and wrapping up the match in 69 minutes. They will lock horns with Denmarks Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen in the last eight. The world No. 5 men's doubles duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had beaten Malaysia's Junaidi Arif and Kang Khai Xing 21-11, 21-16 in a 40-minute contest in their opening round match. Meanwhile, Tanvi Sharma fought valiantly for 66 minutes before falling 17-21, 21-18, 16-21 to Japans World No. 9 Tomoka Miyazaki in the women's singles. The mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto also bowed out to their Chinese Taipei opponents. (ANI)
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