Shenzhen, 04 September (H.S.): Indian badminton star Kidambi Srikanth’s campaign at the China Masters 2026 came to an end in the quarter-finals after he suffered a 16-21, 16-21 defeat to Hong Kong’s Lee Chia-Hsuan at the Shenzhen Arena on Friday.

Srikanth began the opening game by winning two consecutive points, but Lee Chia-Hsuan quickly fought back and took control of the contest. The Hong Kong shuttler maintained his advantage and, despite a late fightback attempt from the Indian, closed out the first game 21-16.

Lee Chia-Hsuan continued to dictate proceedings in the second game as well, securing another 21-16 victory to seal the match in straight games.

The defeat further worsened Srikanth’s record against Lee Chia-Hsuan, marking his fourth consecutive loss to the Hong Kong shuttler. In their head-to-head record, Srikanth’s only victory came in the first round of the 2018 India Open.

Srikanth had earlier booked his place in the last eight by defeating world No. 9 Victor Lai in straight games in the previous round. In the opening round of the tournament, he had also defeated Chinese Taipei’s world No. 21 Chiu Yu-Jen 21-16, 21-15 in 35 minutes.

Although Srikanth’s campaign ended with his quarter-final defeat, his performance at the China Masters remained significant. It was the first time in three years that he had reached the quarter-finals of a BWF World Tour Super 750 or higher-level tournament.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar