Kidambi Srikanth enters historic final, netizens laud 'comeback after 3 years'

Seasoned Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth staged a remarkable comeback to down young compatriot Lakshya Sen enter the final of the BWF World Championships on Saturday. Srikanth displayed immense character as he won the game 17-21 21-14 21-17. The 28-year-old Srikanth won the historic all-Indian men's singles Badminton semifinal, giving himself a chance of winning the top prize.

The match, which will be etched in Indian badminton history was a huge moment for the world No. 14 Srikanth, who has endured injuries and a loss of form in the past. Having missed the Tokyo Olympics this year, Srikanth has now seemed to turn things around after the bad run since winning four Super Series titles in 2017. Clashing swords in what was a historic match for Indian badminton, Srikanth raced to an early lead before his younger opponent pulled level at 2-2. Two more points and Srikanth was in lead again.

Kidambi Srikanth final win

Then it was Sen's turn to briefly take an 8-7 lead but Srikanth immediately levelled it at 8-8. The 20-year Sen regained the lead and at 13-10, he was looking confident of maintaining the momentum, but Srikanth drew level at 16-16. Sen dominated from thereon to grab the first game and wrest the initiative. However, Srikanth roared back into the contest with a flurry of smashes to take the second game and he continued in the same vein in the third game despite some fine defensive show by the 20-year-old to emerge winner in a match that lasted 69 minutes.

Here is how Netizen's reacted to Srikanth Kidambi's win

Kidambi Srikanth vs Lakshya Sen semi-final 

The match was a battle of two generations of Indian badminton that fans were eager to witness. Coming into the semi-final match Srikanth had an easy outing against Dutch shuttler Mark Caljouw, against whom he comfortably won the match  21-8, 21-7. Meanwhile, Youngster Lakshya Sen was made to work by Zhao Junpeng in the match ahead of the semi. The match went all the way till the final set with Sen coming out victorious with a scoreline of 21-15, 15-21, 22-20.

Speaking about India men's player's performance at World Championship, only two other men have managed to win medals in the competition's history. Prakash Padukone won a bronze medal in 1983, while B Sai Praneeth won a Bronze medal in 2019. All eyes are now on Srikanth to make history.

Image: @India_AllSports_Twitter