It took just 42 minutes for Srikanth Kidambi to defeat the 14th seed Anders Antonsen and book his place in the quarter-final at the BWF World Championships in Glasgow. The world No 8 from India is yet to drop a game at the tournament and extended is winning streak to 13 matches, that started at the Indonesian Superseries and Australia Open Superseries.
Up against the talented 20-year-old from Denmark, Srikanth looked to be in control from start to finish to notch up a routine win. It was neck-to-neck to start the first game with the players gauging each other, and creating some wonderful angles at the net but once the Indian got his rhythm going, Antonsen did not have many answers. From 6-6, the first game ended 21-14.
The second game was much more of the same, with Srikanth taking an early 11-3 lead, winning five straight points heading into the interval. More than him calling the shots, the errors flew from the racquet of Antonsen, with Srikanth exerting minimal effort. The second half of the second game was a different story however, with the Dane initially trying to reduce his errors and stay longer in the rallies. He started with six straight points to reduce the gap to 9-11 but Srikanth pulled away again.
Towards the end of the match, with Antonsen going all out with his smashes, Srikanth showed his defence is almost as good as his offence, with some stunning retrieves from either side of the court. With the score reading 13-19, Srikanth returned a barrage of smashes from the tall Dane, and forced him to hit it long, resulting in a match-point. He then wrapped up the match when Antonsen hit it long.
Srikanth will face the world No. 1 Son Wan Ho in the quarter-final.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!