Kidambi Srikanth Surges to Quarters as Indian Contingent Faces Setbacks at Malaysia Masters 2025

Kidambi Srikanth has secured a place in the quarter-finals of the men's singles event at the Malaysia Masters 2025 badminton tournament, held in Bukit Jalil. The ace Indian shuttler fought off a challenging match against Ireland's Nhat Nguyen, winning with scores of 23-21, 21-17 at Stadium Axiata Arena KL Sports City. Despite trailing 11-4 at an interval, Srikanth rallied to emerge victorious. His next opponent will be France's Toma Junior Popov, marking another formidable challenge.

In contrast, HS Prannoy's journey ended in the pre-quarterfinals. The world No. 35 was defeated 21-9, 21-18 by Japan's Yushi Tanaka in a match lasting 39 minutes. Prannoy's exit leaves Srikanth as the sole representative for India in the singles competition this year. Other Indian players, including two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu, couldn't progress past the opening rounds.

On the doubles front, notable progress was made by Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila, who advanced to the top eight in the mixed doubles category after a hard-fought victory against France's Lea Palermo and Julien Maio. They now face China's Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin in the next round. Other Indian duos, however, faced early exits, adding to India's mixed fortunes at the tournament.

(With inputs from agencies.)