Shezhen, Sept. 3 -- Veteran Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth stunned world No. 9 Victor Lai of Canada in straight games to enter the men's singles quarterfinals of the China Masters Super 750 badminton tournament here on Thursday.
The 33-year-old Srikanth, who had reached the US Open Super 300 final earlier this year, rallied his way to notch up an upset 21-18 21-19 win over Lai, who won his second World Championships bronze in New Delhi last month.
"I wasn't really thinking about the score. I was only thinking about what I have been doing throughout the match and what I need to do going forward, that's the only thing I was thinking about," Srikanth said.
"He has been playing really well for last 12-14 months but I just feel like it is a new day and if I can play my best, I will have my chances. I wasn't thinking about how he has been playing. I was only thinking about how I should play."
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.