India’s badminton player Srikanth Kidambi said he was delighted with the come-from-behind win to reach the last-eight stage for just the second time in 10 attempts (Money SHARMA)

New Delhi (AFP) – Home stars Kidambi Srikanth and PV Sindhu overcame tough competition to reach the semi-finals of the badminton India Open but women’s defending champion Zhang Beiwen of the United States crashed out Friday.

Srikanth, a former world number one, served past compatriot B Sai Praneeth 21-23, 21-11, 21-19 in the third round of the BWF World Tour Super 500 tournament in New Delhi.

Third-seeded Srikanth said he was delighted with the come-from-behind win to reach the last-eight stage for just the second time in 10 attempts.

“The turning point of the match was in the second game when I was 1-7 down and I fought back. From there, things changed,” Srikanth, who is currently ranked seventh in the world, said.

“At 19-19 in the decider it could have gone either way. But I played well in the crucial points. So happy with my performance,” Srikanth, who will face China’s Huang Yuxiang in the semis, added.

Sindhu joined the Indian charge, edging out Denmark’s eighth seed Mia Blichfeldt 21-19, 22-20 to set up a weekend clash with China’s He Bingjiao, who beat last year’s winner Zhang 21-18, 26-24 in the women’s singles draw. 

But Danish ace Viktor Axelsen had it easy against India’s HS Prannoy after a 21-10, 21-16 win to book a final-four clash with veteran Parupalli Kashyap.

Kashyap, who recently wed Indian women’s badminton ace Saina Nehwal, got past Taiwan’s Wang Tzu Wei 21-16, 21-11 in the $350,000 event.

Disclaimer: Validity of the above story is for 7 Days from original date of publishing. Source: AFP.