New Delhi: Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth secured a hard-fought victory to reach the quarterfinals of the men’s singles event at the Malaysia Masters 2025 badminton tournament held at Bukit Jalil. Srikanth, a former world No. 1 and currently ranked 65th, overcame Ireland’s world No. 33 Nhat Nguyen in a thrilling match that lasted nearly an hour, winning 23-21, 21-17 at the Stadium Axiata Arena, KL Sports City.
Despite Nguyen’s strong start, leading 11-4 in the first game, Srikanth staged a remarkable comeback to seal the win. He will now face France’s Toma Junior Popov in the quarterfinals. Popov had earlier defeated Indian player Ayush Shetty 21-13, 21-17. Another Indian, Sathish Karunakaran, bowed out after losing 21-14, 21-16 to Christo Popov, Toma’s brother and doubles partner.
Meanwhile, India’s world No. 35 HS Prannoy was knocked out in the pre-quarterfinals by Japan’s 23rd-ranked Yushi Tanaka in a 39-minute match, losing 21-9, 21-18. With these results, Srikanth remains India’s sole contender in the men’s singles category at the tournament.
On the women’s side, none of the Indian singles players, including two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu, advanced beyond the opening round.
India’s doubles hopes also narrow down to one pair, as mixed doubles duo Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila made it to the quarterfinals by defeating France’s Lea Palermo and Julien Maio 21-17, 18-21, 21-15 in a tightly contested match. They will face China’s Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin, bronze medallists from the 2023 World Championships.
However, the women’s doubles team of Prerana Alvekar and Mrunmayee Deshpande exited after a straight-sets loss to Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Yin-Hui and Lin Jhih-Yun, ranked 17th and seeded eighth, 21-9, 21-14
