Indian badminton fans had reasons to cheer on Day 3 of Malaysia Masters 2025 as Kidambi Srikanth powered into the men’s singles quarter-finals, emerging as India’s sole representative in the singles events after a day of mixed fortunes at the Stadium Axiata Arena, KL Sports City in Bukit Jalil.
Srikanth Shows Grit to Advance
Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, currently ranked 65th, showed remarkable resilience to overcome Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen in a gripping Round of 16 clash on the day 3 of Malaysia Masters 2025. Despite trailing 4-11 in the opening game, Srikanth clawed his way back to take the first set 23-21. He then maintained his momentum to close out the match 21-17 in just under an hour.
Nguyen, world No. 33, started strong but was outclassed by Srikanth’s tactical brilliance and calm under pressure, marking one of the Indian veteran’s finest performances in recent months.
With this win, Srikanth moves into the quarter-finals of this BWF Super 500 tournament, where he will face Toma Junior Popov of France, the man who ended Ayush Shetty’s spirited run with a 21-13, 21-17 victory.
Exits for Prannoy and Sathish on Day 3 of Malaysia Masters 2025
It wasn’t all smiles for India on Thursday, as two promising men’s singles campaigns came to a close:
- HS Prannoy, India’s top-ranked male shuttler (world No. 35), was ousted by Japan’s Yushi Tanaka (world No. 23) in straight games: 21-9, 21-18. The match lasted just 39 minutes, with Prannoy struggling to find his rhythm.
- Sathish Karunakaran, who had impressed earlier in the tournament, went down 21-14, 21-16 to Christo Popov, brother of Srikanth’s next opponent.
With these results, Srikanth remains the last Indian in the singles draw, as all women’s singles contenders, including PV Sindhu, had exited in the opening round.
Crasto and Kapila Shine in Mixed Doubles
India’s Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila provided a much-needed lift in the doubles circuit, advancing to the mixed doubles quarter-finals. They came through a tight three-game battle against France’s Lea Palermo and Julien Maio, winning 21-17, 18-21, 21-15.
Next up, the Indian pair will face a stiff challenge against the Chinese duo of Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin, 2023 World Championship bronze medallists.
Women’s Doubles Run Ends
The impressive run of Prerana Alvekar and Mrunmayee Deshpande ended in the Round of 16. The Indian pair fell to the experienced Chinese Taipei duo Hsu Yin-Hui and Lin Jhih-Yun, seeded eighth and ranked 17th in the world, by a scoreline of 21-9, 21-14.
India’s Challenge: Down to Two
With the tournament reaching its business end, India’s hopes now rest on two fronts:
- Kidambi Srikanth in men’s singles
- Dhruv Kapila / Tanisha Crasto in mixed doubles
Both matches promise to be thrilling, as Indian players look to break into the semi-finals and keep the tricolour flying high at the Malaysia Masters 2025. Indian fans can catch the live action from 7:30 am IST on the BWF TV Official Youtube channel.
Stay tuned with us for tomorrow’s updates at Racket Deals.
Where to watch the live action of Day 3 of Malaysia Masters 2025?
You can catch the live action of Malalysia Masters 2025 on BWF offficial youtube chanel. Follow the link.
