Lucknow: Former champion Kidambi Srikanth suffered straight games defeat in men's singles quarterfinals whereas Sourabh Verma advanced to the semifinals at the Syed Modi International Badminton tournament in Lucknow, Friday.
Third seed Srikanth, who won the tournament in 2016 lost 18-21, 19-21 to Son Wan Ho of Korea. However, Sourabh, a winner at two Super 100 events in Hyderabad and Vietnam, kept the Indian challenge alive in men's single with 21-19 21-16 win over Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn.
In women's singles Rituparna Das, who is now the only Indian woman left in the singles, defeated compatriot Shruti Mundada 24-26, 21-10, 21-19 to reach the semifinals.
In the women's doubles, Kuhoo Garg-Anoushka Parikh and Simran Singhi-Ritika Thaker lost their respective games to end India's challenge in women's doubles category.
Earlier on Thursday, Lakshya, 18, who has been on a roll with title wins at Belgian International, Dutch Open, SaarLorLux Open and Scottish Open last week, couldn't produce his best and went down to the experienced Son Wan Ho, a former world no 1.
Ajay Jayaram was also ousted from the tournament after his gallant fight ended with a heart-breaking 18-21 21-14 28-30 loss to China's Zhao Jun Peng.
