Shot in the arm for Srikanth as he enters semis

Basel, March 23

Star shuttler Kidambi Srikanth emerged as the lone Indian survivor at the Swiss Open Super 300 when he progressed to the semifinals with a straight-game win over Chinese Taipei’s Chia Hao Lee here.

Playing his eighth tournament this season, Srikanth dished out a calm and composed performance in a 21-10 21-14 win over world No. 34 Lee in 35 minutes on Friday night.

Guilty of throwing away matches from advantageous positions, Srikanth, who is now being coached by Parupalli Kashyap, finally seemed to have found some rhythm as he dished out a near flawless performance to outclass Lee.

With the win, Srikanth made his first last-four stage appearance in 16 months. He last played a semifinal at the Hylo Open in November 2022.

Srikanth, who has often drowned in a pool of errors by over-hitting or spraying wide while going for his flamboyant smashes, cut down on his mistakes and looked to outwit his opponent at the net.

Srikanth will next face Chinese Taipei’s world No. 22 Lin Chun-Yi later.

While the 31-year-old stayed on track for a first title in many years, it turned out to be a heartbreaking affair for Kiran George as his gallant fight ended with a 23-21 17-21 15-21 loss to Denmark’s Rasmus Gemke in another quarterfinal.

Priyanshu Rajawat also found Chou Tien Chen too hot to handle, going down 15-21 19-21 in a

43-minute clash.