Kidambi Srikanth Storms Into Quarterfinals; HS Prannoy Bows Out Of Malaysia Masters 2025

Ace Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth advanced into the quarter-finals of the men's singles event at the Malaysia Masters 2025 badminton tournament in Bukit Jalil, while HS Prannoy lost his pre-quarterfinals clash, as per Olympics.com. Former world No. 1 Srikantth, currently 65th in the badminton rankings, endured a tough battle against Ireland's Nhat Nguyen before coming out with a 23-21, 21-17 win at the Stadium Axiata Arena KL Sports City. The contest lasted almost an hour. Nhat Nguyen, the world No. 33, dominated the early exchanges and led 11-4 at the interval of the first game. The Indian badminton player, however, flipped the script completely to register a thrilling win.

Srikanth's opponent in the quarters of the BWF Super 500 tournament will be France's Toma Junior Popov, who beat Indian badminton player Ayush Shetty, 21-13, 21-17, in another round of 16 fixture.

India's Sathish Karunakaran also bowed out after going down 21-14, 21-16 to Christo Popov, Toma's brother and doubles partner.

World No. 35 HS Prannoy's run at the Malaysia Masters also ended in the pre-quarterfinals with a 21-9, 21-18 defeat to Japan's 23rd-ranked Yushi Tanaka in a 39-minute-long encounter.

The three exits leave Srikanth as India's lone remaining singles challenge at this year's Malaysia Masters.

None of the Indian women's singles players in action, including two-time Olympic medal winner PV Sindhu, managed to cross the opening round hurdle.

Meanwhile, India's doubles challenge will also be a one-front affair from here on, with Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila making the top eight in the mixed category.

The Indian duo beat France's Lea Palermo and Julien Maio 21-17, 18-21, 21-15 in a hard-fought match to set up a quarter-final encounter