Kidambi Srikanth bowed out of the Dubai World Super Series Finals after losing his first two group matches to Viktor Axelsen on Wednesday and Chou Tien Chen on Thursday.
(This photo was taken from @srikidambi's Twitter account)Kidambi Srikanth crashed out of the Dubai World Super Series Finals after losing to Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei 18-21, 18-21 in his second match of the tournament on Thursday.
Srikanth has one more match to go in the group stage against Shi Yuqi of China but with defeats to Chou and Axelsen, the Indian shuttler has no mathematical chance to make it to the semi-finals.
On Wednesday, Srikanth lost to world No.1 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark 13-21, 17-21 in his campaign opener.
Srikanth struggled to find rhythm in the tournament and allowed his opponents to overpower him.
on Thursday, Chou Tien Chen was able to get going right from the start of the match while Srikanth was unable to find his groove.
In the first game, Chou opened up an early 5-0 lead only for Srikanth to fight back and earn four straight points to make it 4-5.
Chou managed to keep his lead from there on and went into the break with a big 11-6 lead against the Indian.
Chou kept up his momentum and racked up points but a late surge from Srikanth meant that the Chinese Taipei shuttler had to wait long for his first game victory.
Chou kept his cool at the end and won the first game 21-18.
Srikanth began the second game well and won the first two points but Chou came right back to level the game.
Despite Chou's attempts, Srikanth managed to find his game and began explosing with his cross-court smashes and drop shots.
Srikanth opened up a healthy lead only for Chou to come right back into the game to reduce the Indian's lead to just two points.
The Guntur shuttler went into the break with a slender 11-9 lead.
It were Srikanth's failed net shots that spelled his doom on the day.
The Indian failed to find those perfect net shots that he has been winning points on all year.
Chou made the most of that and made Srikanth catch up with his wide shots and while Srikanth did manage to smash some shuttles, Chou's excellent court coverage didn't allow him much space.
Srikanth ended up losing the lead at 18-18 after which Chou won two straight points, one courtesy a successful challenge.
Chou, thereafter, needed just one match point opportunity to seal the game 21-18 and win the match to stay alive in the tournament.
Later in the day, PV Sindhu will be up against Sayaka Sato of Japan, having won her first match 21-11, 15-21, 21-18 against China's He Bingjiao.