Kidambi Srikanth, PV Sindhu storm into Korea Open semis; Satwik-Chirag, Ashwini-Sikki upset

Kidambi Srikanth and PV Sindhu registered contrasting victories to reach the Korean Open BWF World Tour Super 500 tournament semi-finals. The matches took place at the Palma Stadium in Suncheon on Friday.

However, both Indian doubles pairs were knocked out by their Korean opponents. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, and women’s doubles duo Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy, were shocked by the lower-ranked local players.

Fifth seed Srikanth saw off former world No. 1 Son Wan Ho of Korea 21-12, 18-21, 21-12 in an exciting men’s singles quarter-finals. Sindhu accounted for seventh seed Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand 21-10, 21-16 to sail into the last-four stage.

World No. 12 Srikanth needed an hour and two minutes to prevail over the experienced Korean. The World Championship silver medalist displayed better control over Wan Ho to move to a comfortable 11-6 lead at the first interval.

Although Son Wan Ho made it 12-14, the Indian shuttler soon changed gears to walk away with the first game.

The Korean star came back strong in the second game, opening up a 10-7 lead but the Indian moved ahead to 13-11. Wan Ho has now slipped to 78 in the world ranking. But he didn’t let the game slip away and soon charged ahead to take it to the decider.

Wan Ho has not played on the circuit for the last two years since his wedding to fellow national player Sung Ji Hyun.

Srikanth had a strong start in the deciding game against Son Wan Ho

The 29-year-old Srikanth got off to a flying start in the third game with a 4-0 lead. Although Wan Ho reduced the deficit, Srikanth managed to hold on to a four-point lead at the mandatory change of ends in the decider.

At 11-7, Srikanth changed pace with some quick attacking returns which allowed him to maintain his lead.

A series of powerful shots kept him in the hunt as he extended his lead to 16-10. A perfect return eventually got him to eight match points and he sealed it when Won Ho hit the net.

Chance for Srikanth to avenge Swiss Open defeat against Jonatan Christie

Srikanth will face Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie in the semi-finals. The reigning Asian Games champion made a comeback from a big loss in the first game to beat three-time former junior world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn. Christie rallied back splendidly to oust Thailand’s Vitidsarn 8-21, 21-17, 21-19 in an hour and 18 minutes.

World No. 8 Christie and Srikanth have both won four matches each against each other. However, Christie will have a psychological advantage in Saturday’s semifinal. He beaten Srikanth recently at the Swiss Open 2022 last month.

Sindhu extends dominance over Busanan with 17th win

Third seed Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medalist, notched up her 17th win over familiar foe Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan. She beat the Thai shuttler 21-10, 21-16 in the women’s singles quarterfinals.

Sindhu had no issues disposing off Busanan, whom she had beaten in the Swiss Open final last month. The Thai star led 5-2 in the opening game, but after that it was a Sindhu show as she kept the match under her tight grip.

Leading 11-7, Sindhu produced an eight-point burst to pull away from the Thai player and grab the lead in the match. Things were similar after the change of sides as Sindhu held a 8-2 lead and kept moving ahead as the Thai crumbled.

Sindhu will cross swords with second-seeded Korean An Seyoung next. Seyoung crushed Japan’s Saena Kawakami 21-14, 21-7 in a one-sided quarter-finals that lasted 37 minutes.

World No. 4 Korean player has a perfect 3-0 head-to-head record against Sindhu. The Indian star has not won a single game against the dangerous Korean in their previous three meetings.

Satwik-Chirag failed to utilize two match points against the Korean pair

Third seed Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were upset by local pair Kang Minhyuk and Seo Seungjae 20-22, 21-18, 20-22. It was a marathon battle that lasted an hour and 18 minutes.

World No. 7 Satwik and Chirag had two match points in the third game but they squandered them and made a painful exit from the quarters.

Similarly, there were curtains for women’s doubles pair top seeds Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy. World No. 20 Ashwini and Sikki Reddy, who got a bye in the first round, were upset by the new Korean pair in a 52-minute battle.

Indian Results (Quarter-finals)

Men’s singles

5-Kidambi Srikanth bt Son Wanho (Korea) 21-12, 18-21, 21-12 (62 minutes)

Women’s singles

3-PV Sindhu bt 7-Busanan Ongbamrungphan (Thailand) 21-10, 21-16 (43 minutes)

Men’s doubles

3-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty lost to Kang Minhyuk-Seo Seungjae (Korea) 20-22, 21-18, 20-22 (78 minutes)

Women's doubles

1-Ashwini Ponnappa-N Sikki Reddy lost to Eom Hye Won-Bo Ryeong Kim (Korea) 19-21, 17-21 (52 minutes).

Semi-final line-up (Saturday)

Men’s singles

5-Kidambi Srikanth vs 3-Jonatan Christie (Indonesia)

Women’s singles

3-PV Sindhu vs 2-An Seyoung (Korea).