Rio 2016, Badminton: Lin Dan Beats Brave Kidambi Srikanth To Enter Semifinals

Kidambi Srikanth fought bravely after a poor start, put in a magnificent display in the second game but still fell short against China's defending Olympic champion Lin Dan as he lost 6-21, 21-11, 18-21 in the quarter-finals to bow out of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

With this win, Lin will face top seed Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in the semi-final.

Srikanth made a poor start in the first game as Lin won 10 consecutive games on the bonce to surge to a 11-1 lead. The Indian struggled to find his feet and lost the game 21-6. In the second game, Srikanth put in a much better performance as Lin made plenty of errors at the net. The Indian went on to win the game 21-11 to make it level.

Srikanth played some excellent strokes at the forecourt, dominating the net which seemed to wary the 32-year-old Chinese briefly. Lin Dan managed to erase the deficit at 13-13 when Srikanth missed the baseline by a whisker after being troubled by the drift.

A couple of unforced errors shifted the momentum to Lin Dan's favour as he led 16-14. The Chinese netted one return but his disguised net shot caught Srikanth offcourt. A smash gave a point to the Indian, who pumped himself up after winning every point.

However, the sheer quality of his strokes helped Lin Dan lead 19-16 but Srikanth managed to breath down his neck with another superb smash before a rushing shot got buried at the nets and gave the match point to the Chinese.

Srikanth saved one match point when Lin Dan's return ended outside the court but the Chinese sealed the issue by pushing the shuttle at the back court.

In the final game, both players fought hard but with the score at 14-14, Srikanth missed a rally and Lin maintained a lead. Although the Indian shuttler fought back, an unforced error gave the Chinese the advantage and he won the game 21-18 to advance to the semi-final.

With this loss, India's hopes for a medal in the men's badminton have ended.