TOKYO: India’s Commonwealth Games badminton bronze medallist Kidambi Srikanth was stunned by unseeded Zhao Junpeng in the second round of the World Championships in Tokyo today.
No 12 seed Srikanth, the silver medallist at last year’s World Championships, lost 21-9, 21-17 to China’s Zhao, his second-game comeback falling away at the finish.
Srikanth, part of India’s Thomas Cup-winning team in May, said he “could have maybe played better” but was not as clinical as his opponent.
“He just played well when it really mattered,” said the former world No 1.
“I had my chances in the second game and if I could have won it, anything could have happened in the third game.
“It’s just about winning the points when it really matters and I think he played really well in the closing stages of the second game,” the 29-year-old added.