Published 21:31 IST, December 19th 2021
Fans call Srikanth's game in BWF World Championships final 'outstanding' despite loss
Former world no. 1 Kidambi Srikanth was denied the chance to become India's 1st gold winner in men's singles at World Championship, after loss to Kean Yew Loh.
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India's hopes for gold at BWF World Championships ended on a dull note as its star player Kidambi Srikanth faced defeat at the hands of Singaporean shuttler Kean Yew Loh, on Sunday. Srikanth finished second in the World Championships to earn the silver medal. The Indian star shuttler scripted history earlier on Saturday by becoming the first Indian male badminton player to reach the finals of the BWF World Championships 2021, being played in Spain by defeating fellow national Lakshya Sen in the semi-finals. However, Srikanth ended up committing too many mistakes in the final and lost the chance to become the first Indian men’s badminton player to win gold at the World Championships.
How did the fans react to Kidambi Srikanth’s silver medal-winning effort?
Netizens were critical about the former world no. 1 after his loss in the World Championships final, as they felt he would have shown better game tactics. Meanwhile, other fans hailed Srikanth for his brilliant effort in the second game. A fan argued that by the time Srikanth started counter-attacking, the game had already slipped from his hands. Many also hailed Srikanth for his outstanding performances despite having a career laden with injuries. Meanwhile, a fan also mentioned that India has also earned the bronze medal in the men's singles, courtesy of Lakshya's third-place finish.
Started the game with a nerve, @reallohkeanyew eventually got his form to win 1st set. But Kidambi gave his best in the 2nd set to give us a thrilling show. Congrats LKY for creating history as the first Singaporean as a World Champion. 🥇🏆
— Asterix (@astariterix) December 19, 2021
Poor game & tactics from Srikanth. LKY didn't even work. Someone advised Sri today to be very selective with smash. Kill opportunities he chose clear rather smash & that cost him. LKY kept getting points from net drops as Sri didn't return 50%. Usual carelessness also crept in.
— Santhosh (@justruinit) December 19, 2021
Before Srikanth switched to attack, the match was already slipping from his hands & it was a matter of when LKY will take it. Srikanth chose to play a patient passive game (like Momota), but didn't have the quality to pull it off.
— Santhosh (@justruinit) December 19, 2021
Two Medals for India.🇮🇳#KidambiSrikanth & #LakshyaSen winning Silver and Bronze respectevely in #WorldChampionships2021 #WBF #Huelva2021 pic.twitter.com/F9uTESRFoL
— 🇮🇳𝕄𝕣 ℙ𝕒𝕧𝕒𝕟𝕒𝕫𝕙𝕚🏹 (@Mrpavanazhi) December 19, 2021
Kidambi Srikanth wins silver in World Championship - what an outstanding performance.
— HarMan (@HPSNatt) December 19, 2021
with a career marked with injuries to make a comeback n win silver is truly commendable. Bravo Champion🙏🙏
WE HAVE WORLD CHAMPION FROM SINGAPORE!! HISTORY FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! congrats LOH KEAN YEW 😭 he is on fire in the right time in the right place #BWC2021 pic.twitter.com/lnLU9RUXKH
— Bayu Arisandy🇮🇩 (@bayuarisandee) December 19, 2021
Kean Yew Loh scripts history by defeating Kidambi Srikanth-
The match commenced with Srikanth serving the shuttle, while Kean Yew Loh opened the score sheet of the match, followed by the first points by Srikanth. After the initial lead by Kean Yew Look, Srikanth made a comeback in the first game and earned eight back-to-back points to take the score to 9-3, before the Singaporean shuttler earned four consecutive points. Srikanth took a four points advantage with the scoreboard at 11-7 after only seven minutes of play in the first game of the match.
However, Loh fought back to level points at 11-11 and ended up winning the first game 21-15. Former World No. 1 Srikanth kept giving away points from small mistakes throughout the first half, as Loh went into the interval of the second game with an 11-9 lead. Srikanth made an incredible comeback to level points at 20-20, however, he failed to capitalize on it and had to settle for the silver medal. Loh picked up the first men’s singles title in the BWF World Championships for Singapore and also became the country's first World Champion after winning 21-15 and 22-20 in the finals.
BWF World Championships 2021 Finals: Full Results
Earlier on Sunday, Japan's Akane Yamaguchi defeated Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in the women’s singles final of the World Championships and picked up the title. Yamaguchi earned the title with a convincing 21-14, 21-11 win, in a match that lasted for 39 minutes. Meanwhile, the Japanese pair of Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi defeated He Ji Ting and Tan Qiang 21-12, 21-18 in the men’s doubles final. Meanwhile, Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan picked the women’s doubles title after defeating the South Korean pair of LEE Sohee and Shin Seugchan. In the meantime, the Thai mixed doubles pair of Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai defeated Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino to win the BWF World Championship title in the mixed doubles category.
(Image: PTI)
21:03 IST, December 19th 2021