Kidambi Srikanth's China Masters run ends with defeat to Lee Cheuk Yiu

Kidambi Srikanth's China Masters campaign ended with a straight-games quarter-final defeat to Lee Cheuk Yiu in Shenzhen. The run still marked his first Super 750 quarter-final appearance in three years.Kidambi Srikanth lost 21-16, 21-16 to Lee Cheuk Yiu. Courtesy: PTIKidambi Srikanth's impressive run at the 2026 China Masters came to an end on Friday as Lee Cheuk Yiu defeated the former world No. 1 21-16, 21-16 in the quarter-finals. The Indian was unable to extend his campaign at the BWF World Tour Super 750 event in Shenzhen.Srikanth began the opening game with two quick points, but Lee soon settled into the contest and established control. The Hong Kong shuttler maintained his advantage through the remainder of the game, with Srikanth mounting a late challenge that ultimately came too late to change the outcome.The second game offered Srikanth more opportunities to turn the contest around. He raced to a 4-0 lead but surrendered the advantage with four consecutive unforced errors, allowing Lee to move back in front. Srikanth continued to fight and produced a couple of sensational points to take a 15-14 lead, but Lee responded strongly and eventually closed out the match in straight games.The result also extended Lee's advantage in their head-to-head record, with Srikanth now having lost their last four meetings in a row. His only victory against the Hong Kong player came in the opening round of the 2018 India Open. SRIKANTH'S BEST RUN IN THREE YEARSDespite the quarter-final exit, Srikanth's campaign represented an important step forward. It was his first quarter-final appearance at a BWF World Tour Super 750 event or higher in three years, having entered the tournament without reaching that stage at this level during that period.Srikanth had opened his China Masters campaign with a convincing 21-16, 21-15 victory over Chinese Taipei's world No. 21 Chi Yu-jen in just 35 minutes. He then produced one of the tournament's notable results by defeating world No. 9 Victor Lai 21-18, 21-19 in the round of 16. The victory over Lai had raised expectations around Srikanth's prospects in Shenzhen, particularly after the Canadian had recently beaten India's Lakshya Sen and arrived at the tournament following a bronze-medal finish at the BWF World Championships.However, Lee proved too strong in the quarter-finals and brought Srikanth's campaign to a close. Srikanth's run nevertheless gave him a quarter-final finish at one of the season's biggest BWF World Tour events.- EndsPublished By: Debodinna ChakrabortyPublished On: Sep 4, 2026 09:31 IST