Srikanth falls short of ending 9-year title drought as he loses to Su Li Yang in final

It has been nine years since Kidambi Srikanth won a BWF singles title and on Sunday it looked as if the former World No.1 shuttler would end the drought. But the Andhra Pradesh player fell shot as he went down fighting to Chinese Taipei’s Su Li Yang in the men’s singles final at the US Open 2026 badminton tournament in California.

Srikanth lost 15-21, 21-16, 9-21 in a contest lasting one hour and nine minutes, settling for a runner-up finish in his first BWF World Tour final of the 2026 season. c.

This was Srikanth’s first appearance in a BWF World Tour final since the Syed Modi International badminton tournament in 2025.

Su Li Yang started well, opening up a 10-5 lead in the first game. Srikanth fought back to level at 10-10 but the Chinese Taipei shuttler responded with a seven-point burst to seize control before taking the opener.

Srikanth bounces back strongly

Srikanth, ranked 11 places ahead of Su Li Yang at world No. 38, bounced back strongly in the second game. Locked at 13-13, the Indian picked up seven of the next eight points to force a decider and keep his title hopes alive.

However, the momentum swung decisively in the final game. After Srikanth stayed within touching distance at 9-7, Su Li Yang won eight consecutive points to pull away before sealing the title.

Kidambi Srikanth hasn’t won a BWF title since lifting the French Open crown in 2017 during the Superseries era. Pics: BWF

The 33-year-old Srikanth had enjoyed an impressive run to the final, defeating Japan’s fourth seed Yudai Okimoto in the semifinals after earlier eliminating Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia in the second round.

The 33-year-old got the better of fourth seed Okimoto 22-20, 15-21, 21-19 in an hour and 12 minutes to set up a summit clash against Chinese’s Taipei’s eighth seed Su Li Yang. Su ended the dream run of India’s Rounak Chouhan with a 21-17, 21-19 win in the other semifinals.

Devika Sihag loses in semifinals

In the women’s singles semifinal, Devika Sihag could not sustain the momentum after winning the opening game against second seed Line Christophersen of Denmark, going down 15-21, 21-11, 21-15.

But the day belonged to Srikanth, who kept his nerves in the opening game after Okimoto had fought back from a 11-17 deficit to earn a game point.

Srikanth saved the point and won the next two to grab the advantage. The Japanese shuttler, however, forced a decider with a strong showing in the second game. The final game followed a similar script like the first as Srikanth opened up a 10-5 lead only for Okimoto to draw level at 12-12.

Srikanth then grabbed six straight points 12-13 before conceding five himself to make it 18-18. The Indian then relied on his experience to mix up the pace and wrap up the match.