Odense: Kidambi Srikanth stood one step away from his third Super Series Premier title after he dished out a superlative display to outwit Hong Kong’s Wong Wing Ki Vincent in straight games to reach the men’s singles final of the USD 750,000 Denmark Open badminton tournament, here Saturday.
The 25-year-old Indian, who clinched the Indonesia Open and Australian Open titles this year besides reaching the final of the Singapore Open, defeated Wong 21-18, 21-17 at the Odense Sports Park here.
Srikanth will meet the 37-year-old Lee Hyun Il of Korea who turned the clock to overcome compatriot and top seed and World No. 2 Son Wan Ho 25-23, 18-21, 21-17
Srikanth came into the match against Wong with a 2-2 head-to-head record in career meetings – all of which had gone to the decider. However, Saturday, he controlled proceedings from the start and won in 39 minutes.
“I feel great. I really wanted to do well. Our games are similar but I was more patient and though I made some errors initially I learnt quickly. Next up is Lee whom I have not played and I think he will be a tricky player to beat, but I will give it my best shot,” Srikanth told this agency after his win.
Srikanth and Wong split the initial six points before the Indian moved ahead with his rival struggling with the length of his shots. He eventually had a healthy 11-6 lead and from then on Wong was always playing the catch up game. The second game followed a similar pattern to the first.