Korea Open: Kidambi Srikanth and PV Sindhu storm into semifinals

PV Sindhu will face either Japan’s Saena Kawakami or second seeded Korean An Seyoung next. In a battle between two former world number ones, it was World Championships silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth, who rode on his power.

PV Sindhu has marched into Korea Open semifinals. (Source: Twitter)

Top Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth progressed to the semifinals of the Korea Open Super 500 badminton tournament with contrasting wins in Suncheon on Friday (April 8). Third seed Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, notched up her 17th win over familiar foe Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan 21-10, 21-16 in the women’s singles quarterfinals.

She will face either Japan’s Saena Kawakami or second seeded Korean An Seyoung next. In a battle between two former world number ones, it was World Championships silver medallist Srikanth, who rode on his power and precision to outwit local hope Son Wan Ho 21-12, 18-21, 21-12 in a men’s singles quarterfinal match that lasted just over an hour.

Srikanth had a 4-7 record against the Korean, having lost to him on last three occasions. However, the Indian played better badminton on Friday to come up trumps against an opponent, who is coming back to international badminton after a two-year hiatus.

The Indian, seeded fifth, will next face the winner of the match between Thailand’s eighth seed, Kunlavut Vitidsarn and third seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia. In women’s singles, Sindhu had no issues in disposing off Busanan, whom she had beaten at Swiss Open final last month. The Thai lead 5-2 in the opening game but after that it was a Sindhu show as she kept the match under her tight grip.

Busanan Ongbamrungphan rivals former world champion Pusarla V. Sindhu for a semifinals spot.#KoreaOpen2022 #BWFWorldTour pic.twitter.com/a8IpZw5TAN

— BWF (@bwfmedia) April 8, 2022

Leading 11-7, Sindhu produced an eight-point burst to pull away from the Thai and grab the lead in the match. Things were similar after the change of sides as Sindhu held a 8-2 lead and kept moving ahead as the Thai crumbled.

In men’s singles, Srikanth showed better control as he dominated the short rallies to move to a comfortable 11-6 lead at the first interval and though Son Wan Ho made it 12-14, the Indian soon changed gears to walk away with the first game. The Korean came back strongly in the second game, opening up a 10-7 lead but Srikanth moved ahead to 13-11. An alert Son Wan Ho didn't let the game slip away and soon charged ahead to take it to the decider.

Semifinals in sight for Kidambi Srikanth and Son Wanho as they battle in a three-game encounter.#KoreaOpen2022 #BWFWorldTour pic.twitter.com/o7ziDzX1UB — BWF (@bwfmedia) April 8, 2022

Srikanth made a rollicking 4-0 start in the decider but unforced errors allowed the Korean to make it 4-6. The Indian changed the pace with some quick attacking returns and his precision earned him returns. Srikanth managed a 11-7 lead at the interval. A barrage of attacking shots kept Srikanth in the hunt as he extended his lead to 16-10. A precision return eventually got him to eight match points and he sealed it when Son Won Ho hit the net.