Lin stunned by unheralded Indian in China Open final
Reuters – 6 hours ago
- Kidambi Srikanth returns a shot during his men's singles final against China's …
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(Reuters) - Two-time Olympic gold medalist Lin Dan suffered a shock defeat at the hands of unheralded Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth in the final of the China Open Super Series on Sunday.
The 21-year-old Srikanth, who grew up idolizing the five-time world champion, defeated Lin 21-19 21-17 in the men's singles final for his first Super Series title.
Cheered by a vociferous crowd, Lin rallied to go up 19-17 in the first game but the Indian won four consecutive points to snatch lead.
Srikanth continued to put the 2008 and 2012 Olympic gold medalist under pressure in the second game and converted his second match point to complete a comprehensive victory.
It turned out a day of double delight for India as London Olympics bronze medalist Saina Nehwal earlier won the women's singles title by beating Japanese teenager Akane Yamaguchi in the final.
Yamaguchi had knocked out top-seeded Chinese Wang Shixian in the second round but Nehwal, 24, proved too strong for her and registered a 21-12 22-20 win for her first China Open title.
(Writing by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
