K Srikanth enters semis of Hong Kong Open

New Delhi, Nov 15 (UNI) India’s ace shuttler Kidambi Srikanth entered the semi-finals of the men’s singles event at the Hong Kong Open, after fifth seed Chen Long of China retired in the quarter-final of the tournament on Friday.

World No 13 Srikanth comfortably won the first game against the Chinese great 21-13. However, the two shuttlers couldn’t start the second game, as Chen Long decided to concede the match due to injury, thus handing the Indian a place in the semis of the tournament.

It was Srikanth’s second career win over the Chinese shuttler. The Indian still trails Long 2-6 in head-to-head win-loss record.

Kidambi Srikanth has been extremely lucky in the ongoing Super 500 tournament in Hong Kong. Earlier, he had progressed to the 2nd round after reigning world champion Kento Momota withdrew from their 1st-round meeting.

Srikanth, the lone Indian in contention in the tournament, will now face the winner of the other quarterfinal match between Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu and Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in the semi-final on Saturday.