Srikanth into Malaysia Masters 2025 semifinal; Kapila, Crasto knocked out
Srikanth into Malaysia Masters 2025 semifinal; Kapila, Crasto knocked out
Kidambi Srikanth entered the semifinals of the Malaysia Masters 2025 in Kuala Lumpur on Friday after defeating Toma Junior Popov in a hard-fought quarterfinal.
Srikanth, currently ranked 65th but a former World No. 1 and a World Championships and Asian Games silver medallist, edged the opening game 24-22. Popov hit back to take the second 21-17, setting up a tense decider.
The third game was a thriller, with Srikanth holding his nerve to clinch it 22-20 in a match that lasted one hour and 14 minutes.
“It’s been a while since I’ve won this many matches in a tournament and I hope I can continue to do so,” said Srikanth.
“I’ve always been trying to better myself and this win just proves that whatever I’m doing is working,” added the former world no.1, who had won four titles in a stellar 2017 season and was part of India’s historic Thomas Cup triumph in 2022.
The 32-year-old will face Japan’s Yushi Tanaka in the semifinal on Saturday. Tanaka had earlier knocked out H. S. Prannoy in the Round of 16 and then defeated Christo Popov, brother of Toma Junior, 21-18, 16-21, 21-6 in his quarterfinal.
The other men’s singles semifinal will feature fourth seed Kodai Naraoka of Japan against second seed Li Shi Feng of China.
Srikanth is now the lone Indian left in the BWF World Tour Super 500 tournament following the exit of the mixed doubles pair Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, who lost in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Kapila and Crasto pushed top seeds Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin of China in the opening game but fell away in the second, losing 22-24, 13-21 in a 35-minute contest.
The 32-year-old Indian had lost to Toma twice before — at the 2021 Orleans Masters and the 2023 French Open — but turned the tables this time, prevailing in a 74-minute battle marked by relentless pressure and momentum shifts.
Srikanth made a quick start, racing to a 5-1 lead in the opening game before Toma clawed back to level at 7-7.
What followed was an intense battle for supremacy, with the lead changing hands frequently. However, Srikanth held his composure to edge past the Frenchman and pocket the first game.
Switching sides, Toma came out stronger in the second, taking a 6-2 lead. Though Srikanth managed to catch up at 14-all, the 26-year-old Frenchman kept his nose ahead to take the match into a decider.
The third game turned into a rollercoaster. Srikanth led 5-2 before Toma surged ahead to go into the interval with an 11-7 advantage. The Frenchman held a slender 16-14 lead before Srikanth turned the tide with a brutal smash to earn three match points.
However, nerves crept in as the Indian squandered all three opportunities, sending the shuttle wide twice and then into the net. But Toma faltered under pressure, committing two unforced errors as Srikanth sealed the match and raised his hand in triumph.
A naturally gifted shotmaker, Srikanth has often been guilty of losing matches due to untimely unforced errors, especially when his powerful smashes missed the lines.
But over the last three months, he went through intense training sessions, worked on his fitness, and sharpened his ability to inject pace into rallies under the watchful eyes of coaches RMV Gurusaidutt and Parupalli Kashyap.
Srikanth reached the quarterfinals at the Thailand Open Super 300 this year, while his last semifinal appearances came at the Swiss and Macau events in 2023.
Next up is Tanaka, who ended fellow Indian HS Prannoy’s campaign earlier in the tournament. Srikanth will be keen to settle that score.
(with inputs from PTI)
Published on May 23, 2025
