Tokyo
Kidambi Srikanth crashed out in the quarterfinals of the Japan Open Super Series after losing to recently-crowned world champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark but the mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy advanced to the semifinals.
The 25-year-old Srikanth couldn’t curb his errors to go down 17-21 17-21 to world No. 2 and third seed Axelsen in a men’s singles quarterfinal contest that lasted 40 minutes. With this victory, Axelsen enjoys a 3-2 head-to-head lead over Srikanth in five meetings, having won their last three matches.
US Open champion HS Prannoy also fell in the quarterfinals, suffering a 15-21 14-21 loss to China’s second seed Shi Yuqi in 45 minutes. But Chopra and Reddy kept the Indian flag fluttering, defeating South Korea’s Seung Jae Seo and Kim Ha Na 21-18 9-21 21-19 to set up a clash with Japan’s Takuro Hoki and Sayaka Hirota in the semifinals.
Srikanth made too many errors and squandered 16-13 and 9-6 advantages in the first and second game, respectively. Axelsen, on the other hand, showed great agility and used his smashes to good effect to outwit the Indian.
