New Delhi, Nov. 12 -- Former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth outplayed World No. 8 and home favourite Kodai Naraoka in a three-game thriller, advancing to the quarter-finals of the Japan Masters, a BWF World Tour Super 500 tournament underway at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium.

Joining him in the last eight is newly crowned HYLO Open champion Lakshya Sen, who registered a comfortable win over his Chinese opponent, according to a press release.

Despite entering the match with a 0-4 head-to-head record against Naraoka, Srikanth showed great composure to take the opening game 21-15, winning seven consecutive points after trailing 12-14. The Japanese shuttler fought back strongly to force a decider and held the early advantage in the last g...