Jakarta: India’s Kidambi Srikanth crashed out of the 18th Asian Games after suffering a shocking loss to Hong Kong’s Wong Wing Ki Vincent in the men’s singles second round of the badminton event here today.
The former world no. 1 Indian, who had clinched a silver at the Commonwealth Games besides leading the mixed team to the coveted gold, failed to outwit the 28th ranked Wong Wing Ki, going down 21-23 19-21 in a hard-fought match.
Srikanth came into the match with a 5-2 head-to-head record against Wong Wing Ki but it didn’t matter in the end as the Hong Kong shuttler proved to be a better player. He put up a tough defence and produced more precise strokes to outwit the Indian in a 43-minute duel.
Currently ranked eighth in the world, Srikanth had lost 21-23 22-20 10-21 to Indonesia’s Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in the men’s team event. Srikanth, who had won four titles in a watershed year last season, will next play at the Japan Open from September 11 to 16.
