Srikanth, Sindhu lose again

Bangkok, January 28

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Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth were out of contention for the knockout stage after losing their second-round matches in the BWF World Tour Finals here today.

A week after suffering a demoralising defeat to Ratchanok Intanon, there was no change of fate for Sindhu as the world champion went down 18-21 13-21 to the third-seeded Thai player.

“It wasn’t my day. Losing the first game made the difference. My timing was a bit off, so a bit disappointed,” Sindhu said.

Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong beat world No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan 21-17 21-11 in another match today to qualify for the knockout stage. Chochuwong had beaten compatriot Intanon in the first round. The other semifinalist will be either Intanon or Tzu Ying as they face each other tomorrow.

Srikanth enjoyed a 3-0 head-to-head record against Wang Tzu Wei ahead of his match but it mattered little as the Taiwanese world No. 12 claimed a come-from-behind 19-21 21-9 21-19 win over the Indian.

Wang and Anders Antonsen of Denmark entered the knockouts from the men’s singles Group B with two wins each. — PTI

Need to find a way to beat top players: Srikanth

Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, who lost his second successive match and is virtually out of the World Tour Finals, said he needs to find ways to beat the world’s best players. After his second successive three-game defeat today, Srikanth said: “I have to figure out a way to pull out these matches.” Yesterday Srikanth was pretty close to closing against Anders Antonsen when he led 17-16 in the third game. He could not finish the match. Today he was in control in the third game against Wang Tzu Wei, but Wang slipped away to win it 21-19. Srikanth hasn’t beaten a top-10 player since defeating Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie in March 2019.“I think it’s about match practice, playing against top players continuously. We haven’t played for a year, and before that I wasn’t playing against top-eight players continuously. I feel I’m almost there. Yesterday I was there. After 15-all or 16-all it’s a matter of a few points,” Srikanth said. “It’s about playing consistent after 16-all, you can’t afford to make mistakes. Today I gave him three points after 15-all. Yesterday the same thing happened,” Srikanth, who turns 28 next month, said. “Yes, it’s a matter of pulling out one or two matches against top players,” he said.