Star Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth made a strong return to competitive badminton, advancing to the men’s singles quarterfinals of the Macau Open Super 300 tournament on Thursday. The sixth-seeded Srikanth, who was playing his first competition since recovering from an injury sustained in May, outclassed compatriot Ayush Shetty in straight games 21-13, 21-18.
Srikanth, the 2021 World Championship silver medallist, will next face Hong Kong’s second seed Ng Ka Long Angus, with whom he shares an even 4-4 head-to-head record in their last eight encounters.
In women’s doubles, the pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also reached the quarterfinals, securing a solid 22-20, 21-11 win over Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chih-Chun and Teng Chun Hsun in just 38 minutes.
However, former world junior number one Tasnim Mir’s run in women’s singles came to an end in the second round. Mir put up a commendable fight against fourth seed and 2022 World junior champion Tomoka Miyazaki from Japan, stretching the match to three games before ultimately losing 17-21, 21-13, 10-21.
In mixed doubles, the team of B Sumeeth Reddy and N Sikki Reddy bowed out of the tournament after falling 17-21, 14-21 to the Malaysian duo of Wong Tien Ci and Lim Chiew Sien in the second round.
Srikanth, the former world number one, took 37 minutes to defeat Ayush, who initially held a brief 5-3 lead in the opening game. However, Srikanth quickly regained control, moving to an 11-8 advantage at the break and ultimately securing the first game.
In the second game, Ayush showcased a stronger performance, building a 9-6 lead after a competitive start and later extending it to 15-10. Despite this promising position, he couldn’t maintain his momentum as Srikanth surged ahead, winning nine of the next ten points to reach 19-16 before closing out the match.
