All England Open 2018: Kidambi Srikanth lashes out at 'ridiculous' umpiring after pre-quarter loss

What's the story?

Kidambi Srikanth was visibly upset after his pre-quarterfinal loss to China's Huang Yuxiang at the All England Open as he lashed out at the new service rule. Terming it as 'ridiculous', the World No. 2 lambasted the inconsistent umpiring after being called for a series of service faults.

"I didn't start well but then I came back really well in both the games. I missed out on easy points in the third. There were too many service faults in the opening game. I didn't expect that to happen. Yesterday (Wednesday) I didn't get even one, today it was totally changed. That should not happen in a tournament. There should be a specific rule," Srikanth said after his match.

"The umpire couldn't find faults yesterday but today the umpire sitting there found too many faults. It is ridiculous," he added.

In case you didn't know...

The new service rule, which was introduced for the first time in last week's German Open and is now being implemented at ongoing the All England Open, states: 'The whole shuttle shall be below 1.15 metres from the surface of the court at the instant of being hit by the server's racket.'

Ever since the new rule was proposed, it has come under strict criticism with several top shuttlers and coaches around the world condemning it.

The heart of the matter

Speaking after his loss, Srikanth did admit that Huang 'matched' him in every department. However, he was not too bothered about his game but rather stressed on the importance of being patient and holding his nerve.

After losing the first game 11-21 in just 12 minutes, the star Indian shuttler bounced back in the second and drew level by winning 21-15. In the decider, though, it was much tighter as both Srikanth and Huang fought it out toe to toe. However, eventually, the Chinese managed to save two match points before emerging as the winner.

What's next?

Srikanth will next head into the Commonwealth Games where he will team up with his compatriots HS Prannoy, PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and others.

Author's take

The new service rule has seemed to irk almost all of the top players in the world. A few days back, Indian doubles specialist N Sikki Reddy had publicly slammed the BWF saying the world body was 'playing' with the careers of the shuttlers.

The general belief is that the new service rule would even out the advantage enjoyed by the taller shuttlers but in reality, it has been only met with criticism. Maybe, the BWF should reconsider it and find out another way of making the sport fair for everyone.