German Open Grand Prix Gold: Kidambi Srikanth loses in pre-quarterfinals

In a major heartbreak, Indian Shuttler K Srikanth lost 19-21 20-22 in a 47-minute men’s singles match against Olympic champion Chen Long of China in the pre-quarterfinals at the German Open Grand Prix Gold.

After recovering from an ankle injury Srikanth, on his comeback trail, blew 12-6 and 16-12 leads in the two games to go down against the second seed, who is also a two-time World champion and All England champion.

However, in the opening game, Srikanth had opened up a 3-0 lead early and jumped to a 12-6 healthy lead at one stage, but the opposite Chen has fought back slowly to recover his lost ground and turned the tables with a four-point burst to reach a 19-17 lead.

In second game, Chen moved ahead by scoring 9-5 but Srikanth reeled off seven straight points to grab the lead. He kept his nose ahead till 16-12 when Chen marched ahead with a six-point burst for which Srikanth had lost the game.

The Indian grabbed two points but the Chinese shuttler earned next two points to pocket the first game.