Kidambi Srikanth vs Li Shi Feng LIVE in the final of the Malaysia Masters
Former world number one Kidambi Srikanth will be in action in his first major final in four years (first BWF tour final in six!) as he takes on world number four and reigning Asian Games champ Li Shi Feng of China in the final of the men’s singles event at the Malaysia Masters Super 500 in the Axiata Arena at Kuala Lumpur.
Srikanth, currently world no. 65, reached the final following a thrilling, throwback win over Japan’s Yushi Tanaka (21-18, 24-22). Displaying the kind of wrist work and touch at the net that combined with raw aggression from the backcourt had propelled him to the top of the badminton world so many years ago, Srikanth has motored through this tournament in a most unexpected fashion. The defeat of Tanaka (world no. 23) was a summation of all the best things he’s done this past week.
In the final, though, he’ll be up against opposition of altogether different, and higher, calibre. Srikanth has beaten Li Shi Feng only once in four attempts and the world no. 4 has been in impeccable form: his semifinal win over world no. 8 Kodai Naraoka of Japan was a far more straightforward affair (21-15, 21-15). In fact, he’s not even looked close to losing a game all tournament and Srikanth will need to be at his absolute best to push for what could be a tremendous win… a win that could prove to be a bright spot in what’s become dark times for Indian badminton at the elite level.
Srikanth will take to the court in the third match of the day, which should approximately begin at 11.10 am. You can follow the match live on JioHotstar+ and you can, of course, follow along with our live commentary right here:
