Kuala Lumpur: India’s Kidambi Srikanth failed to rein in his errors and went down in straight games to Hong Kong’s Ng Ka Long Angus in the second round of the Malaysia Open Super 1000 badminton tournament here Thursday.
A series of unforced errors and bad line judgements put Srikanth, world ranked 24, on the back foot as he lost 13-21 17-21 to world no 20 Ka Long in a 38-minute men’s singles match.
Srikanth had a promising start as he led 6-1 at one stage but his inconsistencies in execution once again came to the fore as Ka Long reeled off six straight points to turn the tables.
The Hong Kong player, who had come into the match after losing twice to the Indians in last two meetings, gained in confidence and another six-point burst put him in command as Srikanth crumbled.
In the second game, Srikanth looked to take more initiative initially and managed to eke out a slender 11-10 lead with a jump cross-court smash.
But Ka long, who has a good record against Indian players, quickly turned the tables again to lead 14-12, as Srikanth failed to recover in time to reach a shot during a rally.
The Indian tried to extend the rallies but Ka Long was relentless with his retrievals and showed exquisite touch. Soon the Hong Kong player was up 17-12.
The Indian gathered a few quick points with Ka Long committing a series of unforced errors to narrow the deficit to 16-18.
Soon a backhand flick came to Ka Long’s rescue as he deposed a smash kill from Srikanth and then sent one at the backline, which the Indian could not reach. Srikanth, next, sprayed into net to end his agony.
PTI