Srikanth Stumbles After Strong Start: What Went Wrong in Canada?

July 6, 2025: India’s run at the BWF Super 300 Canada Open 2025 came to an end as former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth bowed out in the semi-finals after a gritty fight against Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto in Ontario on Sunday, as reported by Olympics.com.

Srikanth, currently ranked 49th in the world, started strong by clinching the first game but eventually lost the three-game thriller 19-21, 21-14, 21-18 in a match that lasted 78 minutes.

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The Indian shuttler had defeated Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien-Chen in the quarterfinals and looked poised for another upset as he rallied from behind to take the opening game against World No. 12 and third seed Nishimoto.

He carried the momentum into the second game with a 9-4 lead. However, Nishimoto regrouped to win seven straight points at 14-all and forced a decider.

In the third game, Srikanth mounted a comeback from 1-6 down to lead 12-8, but Nishimoto held his nerve and sealed the win by clinching three consecutive points from 18-all.

This was Srikanth’s fifth loss in 11 meetings against Nishimoto, with their head-to-head now tilted 6-5 in the Japanese star’s favour.

Earlier, Shriyanshi Valishetty, 18, had impressed in the women’s singles, reaching the quarterfinals before narrowly losing to Denmark’s Amalie Schulz in a tight 21-12, 19-21, 19-21 clash.

With Srikanth’s loss, India’s campaign at the Canada Open concludes. The nation’s top shuttlers will now look ahead to the BWF Super 750 Japan Open, starting July 15.