SHENZHEN — India's veteran shuttler Kidambi Srikanth saw his fine run at the 2026 China Masters come to an abrupt end on Friday after falling to Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu in straight games in the men's singles quarterfinals.
The former world No. 1 was beaten 16-21, 16-21 in a 40-minute encounter at the BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament in Shenzhen, failing to break his losing streak against the fast-paced Hong Kong star.
Srikanth started the opening game with intent, quickly taking two points, but Lee quickly found his rhythm to control the tempo. Reading Srikanth's attack with precision, Lee carved out a solid cushion through the middle stretch. Although Srikanth launched a late rally to close the gap, Lee stayed composed to comfortably seal the opening set 21-16.
The second game provided Srikanth with an early opening as the 33-year-old Indian zoomed to a 4-0 lead. However, a sequence of four unforced errors wiped out his advantage, handing Lee an easy entry back into the contest.
Srikanth continued to fight back, producing brilliant net play and thunderous jump smashes to edge ahead at 15-14. Yet, Lee answered with a late surge of aggressive flat returns, clinching seven of the next eight points to wrap up the victory in straight games.
The result extends Lee's dominant record over Srikanth, making it four consecutive head-to-head victories for the Hong Kong shuttler. Srikanth’s lone win against Lee remains his first-round victory at the 2018 India Open.
Despite the quarterfinal exit, the tournament marked a significant step forward in Srikanth’s resurgence on the circuit. It was his first quarterfinal appearance at a BWF Super 750 level or higher in three years.
To reach the last eight, Srikanth opened his campaign with a dominant 21-16, 21-15 victory over Chinese Taipei's world No. 21 Chi Yu-jen. He followed it up with one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, stunning Canada's world No. 9 Victor Lai—a recent World Championship bronze medalist—21-18, 21-19 in the round of 16.
While Friday's defeat ended India's singles campaign in Shenzhen, Srikanth's deep run signals encouraging signs of form for the veteran as the BWF World Tour season progresses into its final stretch.
