Seasoned Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth entered the men’s singles semi-finals of the Malaysia Masters badminton tournament with a hard-fought three-game win over the higher-ranked Toma Junior Popov of France here on Friday.

Close encounter

Srikanth, currently ranked 65th, but a former World No. 1, fought tooth and nail against World No. 18 Popov before outwitting the Frenchman 24-22, 17-21, 22-20 in a fierce contest that lasted for one hour and 14 minutes.