Kidambi Srikanth will take on Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien Chen in his second Group B of the ongoing BWF World Superseries Finals in Dubai on Thursday, December 14.
Update: Srikanth is out of semi-final contention as he lost his second Group B match to Chen 21-18, 21-18. Notably, he lost his tournament opener in straight games to Viktor Axelsen on Wednesday.
The world number four, who headed into the tournament, on the back of wins in Denmark and France Superseries tournaments, was decimated in the group opener by defending champion Viktor Axelsen on Wednesday.
Despite taking a 9-4 lead in the first game, Srikanth was struggling to cope up with Axelsen's attacking game.
The Dane hit winners at will as he wrapped up the match 21-13, 21-17 in just 38 minutes, much to the disappointment of Indian fans at Hamdan Sports Complex, who had watched India's PV Sindhu edge past He Bingjiao in the penultimate match of the evening.
[Sindhu takes on Japan's Sayaka Sato at 7pm local time, 8:30pm IST - Live streaming details below]
Srikanth looked a bit rusty as well as he was playing his first game since his French Open title match in October.
"If I continue doing this, I don't think I can go forward. I started well but then I made simple mistakes and I can't afford that at the highest level. Viktor played well in the crucial moments; when it mattered. He played aggressively and his attack was on target for most of the match," Srikanth said after his defeat, as quoted by BWF's official website.
On Thursday, Srikanth needs to be at his best as another loss would dampen his chances of progressing to the semi-final from the three-man group.
On the other hand, Tien Chen is heading into the match on the back of a straight-game (21-19, 21-17) defeat to Shi Yuqi. The two shuttlers share a 1-1 head-to-head record, but have not met since 2015 Superseries Finals, in which the Taiwanese decimated Srikanth in straight game.
When does the match start and how to watch it live
The Group B match of men's singles between Srikanth and Chen will start at 4pm local time, 5:30pm IST
Live streaming and TV coverage
India: TV: Star Sports 2. Live streaming: Hotstar
China: CCTV5
Malaysia: TV: Astro Supersport 4. Live streaming: Astro Go
Singapore: TV: Star Hub. Live streaming: Starhub Go
Live scores can be followed on BWF's official website.
