BWF Tour Finals: Kidambi Srikanth loses to Denmark’s Anders Antonsen on day 1


BWF Tour Finals: Kidambi Srikanth loses to Denmark’s Anders Antonsen on day 1
Srikanth Kidambi Denmark OPen
Kidambi Srikanth

The Indian fans were left disappointed as both the Indian shuttlers, PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth, featuring in the ongoing BWF Tour Finals lost their respective opening fixtures.

Former world no. 1 Kidambi Srikanth put up a brave front in the three-game clash against Denmark’s Anders Antonsen but lost out in the end. The two players had faced off two times in the past. They held a record of one victory each.

Srikanth started off strongly with a massive gap. Although Antonsen managed to peg it back, Srikanth went into the mid-game interval with a three-point lead. The Danish shuttler tried to take control of the match but Srikanth held his ground. The Indian star wrapped up the opening game in 22 minutes.

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The narrow loss

Kidambi Srikanth
Kidambi Srikanth

The second bout saw the roles change as Anders Antonsen took charge of the proceedings. He pulled a six-point lead managing to hang on it after a few unforced errors by Kidambi Srikanth. Antonsen took the second game pushing the match to go for a decider.

The third game saw Srikanth take a slim lead going into the mid-game interval. Despite trailing by three points at one stage, Antonsen mounted a brilliant comeback. He had three match point opportunities and Srikanth managed to save one. However, Srikanth made an error of hitting the shot long, handing the match to Antonsen. The Danish shuttler took the match showing incredible determination and focus. The scores were, 15-21, 21-16, 21-18.

I was struggling again, it was a great fight. We were equal in our levels today, so it was a tight game, we both fought well. It was a very good match. In the second game I continued to get working and gain my rhythm, then Srikanth made some mistakes and that was very important to me. From this match I will gain confidence and keep working and fighting,” Antonsen said.

Srikanth will be hoping for a better show in the BWF Tour Finals ahead.

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