Kidambi Srikanth scripted history on Saturday becoming the first Indian man to reach the finals of the BWF World Badminton Championships with a win against compatriot Lakshya Sen.
In a historic all-Indian men’s singles semifinal, the 28-year-old player bet Sen at 17-21 21-14 21-17 in a thrilling contest that lasted an hour and nine minutes.While Srikanth would now compete for thr gold, Sen signed off with a maiden bronze, joining the legendary Prakash Padukone (bronze in 1983) and B Sai Praneeth (bronze in 2019) as the Indian medal winners at the marquee even.
It was a memorable moment for the badminton fraternity of country when the world number 14 shuttler, made it to finals as he had endured injuries and a loss of form which is why he missed the Tokyo Olympics this year.The two initially staged a tight competition, with a neck to neck score of 4-4. However, Srikanth soon drew parity with a cross-court smash. It was until the interval where Srikanth showcased his real force and valor, quashing Sen at 8-4 smash. Srikanth grabbed a narrow lead at 16-15 before making it 19-16 with a cross-court smash.
By far, P V Sindhu won two silvers and bronze along with the coveted gold in 2019, while the women’s doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa had also won a bronze, in 2011. Ace shuttler, Saina Nehwal has clinched a silver and a bronze to her name in the marquee event.