Srikanth’s second-round loss brings India’s campaign at German Open to a close

Kidambi Srikanth went down to Lin Chun Yi in straight games to end India’s campaign at the German Open 2026 BWF Super 300 badminton tournament. Srikanth lost in his men’s singles second round match in Mülheim an der Ruhr on Thursday.

World No. 32 Srikanth, a World Championship silver medallist, went down 21-14, 21-9 against 11th-ranked Lin Chun-Yi in 32 minutes, suffering his second defeat in as many head-to-head meetings against the player from Chinese Taipei.

Lin Chun-Yi, who lifted the India Open Super 750 crown in January, had edged Srikanth in three games in the 2024 Swiss Open semifinals as well.

Srikanth made a bright start on Thursday, leaping out to a 9-5 lead in the opener, but Lin Chun-Yi steadily reeled him in to move ahead 12-10 before closing out the game with ease.

Switching sides did little to change the momentum as Lin Chun-Yi surged to a 7-1 advantage in the second game and stayed in command throughout, leaving the Indian badminton player with no space to mount a fightback.

Srikanth arrived at the German Open on the back of quarterfinal runs at the India Open and Indonesia Masters, and had also featured at the Badminton Asia Team Championships earlier this month.

In the opening round on Wednesday, India’s challenge had already thinned with early exits for junior world championships silver medallist Tanvi Sharma, Malvika Bansod and Kiran George.

Indian shuttlers will be next seen in action at the prestigious All England Open, a BWF Super 1000 tournament, starting next Tuesday in Birmingham.