China masters: Srikanth unable to arrest slide

Shenzhen, November 22

Star Indian shuttlers Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth suffered contrasting losses to bow out of the China Masters Super 750 here today.

World No. 17 Sen, who won the Canada Open this year, went down 19-21 18-21 to the seventh-seeded Chinese Shi Yuqi, while world No. 24 Srikanth suffered a 15-21 21-14 13-21 loss to world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand. It was a third consecutive first-round exit on the world tour for Srikanth, who has just four quarterfinals finishes to show this season.

Priyanshu Rajawat also bowed out after losing 17-21 14-21 to Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto in 46 minutes.

Srikanth lagged behind in the opening game as Vitidsarn grabbed an 11-6 advantage at the break. The Indian made it 12-13 but the Thai moved ahead to take the game. Srikanth soon regrouped and opened a slim 3-0 lead. Thereafter, there was a tight fight but the Indian managed to establish a 13-10 advantage after the break and kept his distance to roar back into the contest.

Vitidsarn stayed calm and broke off from 8-8 in the decider despite a spirited fight from Srikanth, who had made it 13-15 at one stage. But the Thai reeled off six points to seal the issue.