Silver finish for Srikanth

K Srikanth returns to Loh Kean Yew during the final of the BWF World Championships yesterday. Pic/AFP

Kidambi Srikanth clinched a historic silver medal in the World Badminton Championships after suffering a straight-game defeat to Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the summit clash to notch up the best ever performance by an Indian in the men's singles here on Sunday.

A former World No.1, Srikanth lost 15-21, 20-22 in 43 minutes. He thus bettered the feats of legendary Prakash Padukone (bronze in 1983), B Sai Praneeth (bronze in 2019) and Lakshya Sen (bronze in this edition), whom he had beaten in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Singapore's Loh Kean Yew with the winner's trophy. Pic/AP; PTI

In elite company

The maiden silver also placed Srikanth alongside PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal, who had finished runner-up. Sindhu had won the coveted gold in 2019, two silver and two bronze, while Saina claimed the silver at the 2015 Jakarta and a bronze at 2017 Glasgow. It is also the first time that India won two medals in men's singles at the World Championships.

Significant achievement

Despite the loss, it is a significant achievement for Srikanth, who has been dogged by fitness issues and lack of form ever since injuring his knee during the 2017 French Open final after claiming four Super Series titles that year.

Playing his first final since the 2019 India Open, 12th seed Srikanth fought dogged battle for supremacy with Loh, who relied on his explosive attacking game and lightening footwork to put pressure on the Indian.

Srikanth, ranked 14th in the world, had his moments but he squandered leads of 9-3 and 18-16 in the two games to see the title slip out of his fingers.

Loh thus became the first man from his country to win the World Championships title. It was a big achievement for Loh, who made it to the final after a sensational post-Olympics season which saw him win the Dutch Open, Hylo Open and finish runner-up at the Indonesia Open.

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