Kidambi Srikanth Defeats World No. 9 Victor Lai to Reach China Masters Quarterfinals

At 33, Kidambi Srikanth is showing once again that the veteran Indian shuttler still has plenty left in the tank.

Srikanth produced one of his biggest wins of the season at the China Masters 2026, defeating world No. 9 Victor Lai of Canada 21-18, 21-19 in straight games to storm into the quarterfinals of the BWF Super 750 tournament in Shenzhen. It was a composed performance from the former world No. 1, who handled the pressure against a player arriving in China with considerable momentum. Lai, a two-time World Championships bronze medallist, had already made headlines at the tournament by eliminating Lakshya Sen in the opening round.

For Srikanth, however, Lai's run came to an end.

The Indian's victory was particularly significant because it came against a player ranked inside the world's top 10 and one who had already accounted for another leading Indian men's singles player earlier in the tournament.

Srikanth turns the match around

The opening game was far from straightforward for Srikanth. At one stage, the Indian found himself trailing 11-15, leaving Lai in control of the contest. But rather than allowing the Canadian to dictate the tempo, Srikanth gradually clawed his way back into the game.

The former world No. 1 remained composed during the crucial phase and began to put together the points that mattered. From being four points behind, he turned the momentum around and eventually closed out the opening game 21-18.

That comeback proved important. Lai would have been hoping to respond strongly in the second game, but Srikanth refused to let the Canadian establish sustained control. The rallies remained competitive, but the Indian veteran continued to find the answers when the score tightened.

Srikanth eventually secured the second game 21-19, completing the straight-game victory in under an hour. The celebration afterwards reflected just how much the result meant to him.

A major win for the veteran

For Srikanth, this was more than simply another quarterfinal appearance at a Super 750 tournament. The win marked his first victory over a top-10 opponent since his victory against Chou Tien Chen at last year's Canada Open, according to the information surrounding the match.

That makes the result an important confidence boost for a player who has spent more than a decade competing at the highest level of international badminton.

Srikanth's career has already included some of the biggest achievements in Indian men's badminton. He became the first Indian men's singles player to reach the world No. 1 ranking and has consistently been part of India's strongest generation of men's singles players. At 33, though, the challenge is different. The younger generation has arrived, the men's singles field remains fiercely competitive and every deep run at a major tournament carries added significance.

This victory shows that Srikanth can still produce the kind of performance capable of troubling the world's best.

Lee Cheuk Yiu awaits in the quarterfinal.

Srikanth's reward for defeating Lai is a quarterfinal against Hong Kong China's Lee Cheuk Yiu. Lee, ranked No. 25 in the world, also secured a notable victory in the round of 16, defeating France's world No. 9 Toma Popov to book his place in the last eight.

That sets up another intriguing contest for Srikanth. The Indian will enter the quarterfinal with momentum after defeating a top-10 opponent, but Lee's win over Popov demonstrates that he too is arriving with confidence. With both players having produced significant results in the previous round, the quarterfinal promises to be another test of Srikanth's ability to maintain his level.

For Indian badminton, the result is also a welcome one after Lakshya Sen's early exit at the hands of Lai. Lai had appeared capable of making another deep run after eliminating Sen, but Srikanth ensured that India's presence in the China Masters quarterfinals would continue.

There is something particularly striking about Srikanth's run in Shenzhen. He is no longer the young player who burst onto the international scene, nor is he the world No. 1 who dominated the headlines during his remarkable 2017 season. He is now one of the veterans of the men's singles circuit.

Yet performances like this underline why experience remains such a valuable weapon.

Against Lai, Srikanth did not need to overwhelm his opponent from the beginning. He stayed in the contest, recovered from a difficult position in the opening game and maintained his composure when the match entered its decisive stages.

The result is a place in the China Masters quarterfinals and another reminder that Kidambi Srikanth is still capable of producing eye-catching wins on the biggest stages.

At 33, the former world No. 1 is still fighting, still competing and, as Shenzhen has shown, still capable of beating the world's best.