FULLERTON — India’s Kidambi Srikanth fell short in his bid to secure his first title of the season, finishing as the runner-up at the US Open Super 300 badminton tournament after a gruelling three-game defeat to Chinese Taipei’s Su Li-yang in the men’s singles final on Sunday.
The 33-year-old veteran, a silver medallist at the 2021 World Championships, displayed immense resilience to bounce back after losing the opening game. However, he ultimately struggled to match the relentless pace and high intensity of world number 46 Su, who is nine years his junior. In a physical battle that lasted just over an hour, the former world number 1 eventually conceded the match 15-21, 21-16, 9-21, allowing the eighth-seeded Su to claim the first BWF World Tour title of his career.
Srikanth started the match quickly but lost his rhythm early in the first game after an uncharacteristic net error allowed Su to storm ahead. Despite fighting back to level the score at 10-10 using powerful smashes, Srikanth succumbed to unforced errors after the mid-game interval as Su took the opening game in 17 minutes. The Indian ace responded brilliantly in the second game, dominating the net play and executing sharp cross-court blocks to force a deciding game. However, the momentum shifted completely in the final game when Su unleashed a series of lightning smashes. Srikanth’s frustration compounded at the mid-game break when the chair umpire denied him permission to change his shirt, after which his composure wavered, allowing Su to comfortably secure the championship.
