Kidambi Srikanth’s impressive campaign at the 2026 China Masters came to an end on Friday after Lee Cheuk Yiu defeated the former world No. 1 in straight games, winning 21-16, 21-16 in the quarter-finals. The Indian shuttler was unable to progress further at the BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament in Shenzhen.
Srikanth made a strong start to the opening game by taking the first two points, but Lee quickly found his rhythm and began dictating the proceedings. The Hong Kong player held on to his lead for most of the game, while Srikanth attempted a late comeback that was not enough to alter the result.
The second game gave Srikanth a better chance of fighting his way back into the contest. He surged into an early 4-0 lead, but four straight unforced errors allowed Lee to recover and regain the advantage. Srikanth remained competitive and produced a couple of brilliant points to move 15-14 ahead. Lee, however, responded immediately and finished the match without dropping a game.
The defeat also worsened Srikanth’s head-to-head record against Lee, as the Indian has now lost their last four encounters. Srikanth’s only win over the Hong Kong shuttler came in the first round of the 2018 India Open.
SRIKANTH'S BEST RUN IN THREE YEARS
Although he bowed out in the quarter-finals, Srikanth’s performance in Shenzhen marked a significant improvement. It was his first appearance in the quarter-finals of a BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament or above in three years, having failed to reach that stage at this level during the intervening period.
Srikanth began his China Masters campaign with a dominant 21-16, 21-15 win over Chinese Taipei’s world No. 21 Chi Yu-jen, wrapping up the match in just 35 minutes. He followed that with a notable victory over world No. 9 Victor Lai, beating the Canadian 21-18, 21-19 in the round of 16.
The win against Lai had increased hopes around Srikanth’s chances in Shenzhen, especially after the Canadian had recently defeated India’s Lakshya Sen and entered the tournament on the back of a bronze medal at the BWF World Championships.
Lee, however, proved too difficult to overcome in the quarter-finals and ended Srikanth’s impressive run. Despite the defeat, Srikanth leaves the tournament with a quarter-final finish at one of the biggest events on the BWF World Tour this season.
