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Former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth secured his first-ever win over Daren Liew to start off his 2022 Korea Open campaign in superb fashion on Wednesday.
Liew had been a thorn in the side for the 29-year-old, winning all three of their meetings prior to their most recent clash. But the fifth seed didn't want to repeat the same mistakes against the Malaysian this time.
He held his nerve to secure a hard-fought opening game 22-20 and then ran away in the second to complete a 22-20, 21-11 win in 40 minutes.
The win would have surely boosted the World Championships silver medalist's confidence as he looks to build a rhythm this season. After a slow start to the year, that saw him reach the quarter-finals just once in his first three events, Srikanth came to the Korea Open on the back of a semi-final finish at the Swiss Open.
The resurgent Indian will be keen to keep the momentum going when he takes on World No. 50 Misha Zilberman next. The 33-year-old, a former top-40 player, has been a veteran on the tour and has medals from the European Games and Maccabiah Games.
The Israeli played just one match at the German Open this year ahead of the ongoing Korean tournament. Zilberman put up a gritty effort in that contest before going down 19-21, 18-21 to Christo Popov.
He, however, quickly bounced back from that loss to record a 21-17, 21-16 win over World No. 64 Li Shi Feng in the first round of the Korea Open on Wednesday.
Zilberman does have the experience of fighting it out against the top stars and will look to stretch Srikanth once again. That said, the Indian has been on a good run of form lately and should have enough in his tank to pull off a win.
Korea Open 2022: Match details
Fixture: (5) Kidambi Srikanth vs Misha Zilberman
Head-to-head: Srikanth leads Zilberman 1-0 in the head-to-head. The Indian emerged a 13-21, 21-13, 21-16 winner in their only clash so far at the 2019 BWF World Championships.
Date: April 7, 2022.
Time: Approx. 2.00 pm local time/10.30 am IST.
Tournament: Korea Open Badminton Championships 2022.
Round: Second Round (Round of 16).
Venue: Suncheon, Korea.
Category: HSBC BWF World Tour Super 500.
When and where to watch Kidambi Srikanth vs Misha Zilberman
The Korea Open second-round clash between Kidambi Srikanth and Misha Zilberman won't be telecast.
However, the match can be followed on the BWF website and Tournament Software, both of which will provide live scores. Moreover, the social media accounts of both BWF and the Badminton Association of India will provide regular updates.
