SINGAPORE: The Indian challenge at the ongoing Singapore Open 2023 has ended as shuttler Kidambi Srikanth was eliminated after falling to Chia Hao Lee of Chinese Taipei in the round of 16.
World No. 23 in men’s singles, Kidambi Srikanth, fell to No. 42 Chia Hao Lee 21-15, 21-19 in a 49-minute match, as per Olympics.com.
Chia Hao Lee and Kidambi Srikanth battled it out early on in the Singapore Indoor Stadium, but the Chinese Taipei player upped his performance in the latter stages to grab the lead.
In the second game, Kidambi Srikanth got a good start and quickly led 16-10. But as the game went on, Chia Hao Lee launched an onslaught and came back to win the match and eliminate the Indians.
Earlier on Thursday, Japan’s Kodai Naraoka, the World No. 4 and the third seed in the BWF Super 750 tournament, defeated India’s Priyanshu Rajawat 21-17, 21-16 to force him out of the competition. H S Prannoy had been eliminated by Naraoka in the opening round.
Ben Lane and Sean Vendy of Great Britain defeated M R Arjun and Dhruv Kapila of India in the round of 16 of the men’s doubles competition and eliminated them 21-15, 21-19. The Indian challenge at the Singapore Open 2023 came to an end in the second round after the three losses on Thursday.
Olympic medalists P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal were eliminated in the first round on Tuesday, ending India’s challenge in the women’s singles competition. In the first round of the men’s singles competition, Lakshya Sen also registered a loss.
The best men’s doubles team from India, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, exited the competition in the first round on Wednesday after a shocking loss to Akira Koga and Taichi Saito of Japan. The Singapore Open started on June 6 and will end on June 11. (ANI)