Published: September 3, 2026 at 1:01 pm
Former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth pulled off an upset win over World No.9 Victor Lai in the men’s singles round of 16 at the Li-Ning China Masters 2026 in Shenzhen on Thursday.
The Andhra Pradesh shuttler controlled key rallies for a 43-minute straight-games victory, his first over a top 10 player in some time. Srikanth, who is now ranked World No.34, won in straight games at 21-18 21-19.
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Showcasing tactical brilliance in their maiden meeting, Srikanth clawed his way back from an 11-15 deficit in the opening game before snatching the final three points from 18-19 down in the second to seal the victory. The win secures Srikanth’s first Super 750 quarterfinal berth since 2021. Srikanth, who earned a silver at the 2021 World Championships, next faces Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, 17-year-old Tanvi Sharma battled Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki in a gritty 66-minute three-gamer before falling short, and India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy with Chirag Shetty advanced in doubles.
Tanvi Sharma fought valiantly for 66 minutes before falling 17-21, 21-18, 16-21 to Japan’s World No. 9 Tomoka Miyazaki in the women’s singles. The mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto also bowed out to their Chinese Taipei opponents.
In men’s doubles, former World No. 1 pair Satwik-Chirag held off France’s Toma Junior Popov and Christo Popov 21-17, 22-24, 21-9. After the French pair snatched a tense second game, the Smash Bros stamped their authority in the decider, opening a 6-1 lead and wrapping up the match in 69 minutes. They will lock horns with Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen in the last eight.
On Wednesday, Srikanth had produced an impressive result to beat Chinese Taipei’s world No. 21 Chi Yu-jen 21-16, 21-15 in 35 minutes at the BWF Super 750 badminton event.
Lakshya Sen goes down to Victor
Meanwhile, Lakshya Sen went down 21-14, 21-7 in 38 minutes to Canada’s Victor Lai, a bronze medallist at the last two BWF World Championships.
The Indian player made a bright start and raced to a 4-0 lead but Victor Lai turned the game around and led 11-8 at the mid-game interval.
Lakshya Sen went down 21-14, 21-7 in 38 minutes to Canada’s Victor Lai in the pre-quarterfinals. Pics: BAI
The Canadian shuttler then won five successive points to open up a 17-11 lead and take the opening game. The second game proved more one-sided. Lakshya trailed 11-4 at the mid-game interval and was never able to mount a recovery.
The defeat continued a stop-start season for Lakshya. The 25-year-old Indian reached the All England Open final in March but has struggled to sustain that form consistently and also suffered a second-round exit at the World Championships in New Delhi last month.
Victor Lai has now beaten Lakshya in three of their four meetings this year. Lakshya’s only victory came in the All England semifinals, while the Canadian subsequently prevailed at the Thomas Cup, China Open and China Masters.
World No. 5 men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty started with a 21-11, 21-16 victory over Malaysia’s Junaidi Arif and Kang Khai Xing in 40 minutes.
The fourth-seeded Indians were tested in the second game, with the two pairs locked at 16-16. Satwik and Chirag, however, won the final five points to complete the match in straight games.
In the women’s singles, Tanvi Sharma continued her impressive season with a 21-16, 21-17 victory over Denmark’s world No. 40 Amalie Schulz.
The world No. 26 Indian, who won her maiden BWF World Tour title at the Taipei Open last month, will face ninth-ranked Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan in the pre-quarterfinals.
The mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Olympian Tanisha Crasto also progressed comfortably, beating Thailand’s Tonkid Saeheng and Tonrug Saeheng 21-8, 21-9 in just 24 minutes.
They will next face Chinese Taipei’s Liu Kuang Heng and Hsu Yin-Hui, who knocked out fourth seeds Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue of France.
Devika Sihag, however, bowed out of the women’s singles after losing 21-18, 21-15 to Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova.
In mixed doubles, Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde went down 21-16, 21-18 to Chinese Taipei’s Wu Guan Xun and Lee Chia Hsin.
