Former World No.1 and India’s ace shuttler Kidambi Srikanth finished his 2022 Commonwealth Games campaign with a bronze medal in the Men’s Singles event. He defeated Singapore’s Jin Heng Teh to finish in the top three. Srikanth won the bronze medal match in straight sets. The Indian shuttler won 21-15, 21-18 .
Singapore’s Jia Heng found it too tough against Srikanth who was looking in fine touch. The Singaporean shuttler also got injured while playing the second game. Jia Heng was seen holding his left hamstring in the later part of Game 2. Although he fought it really hard, Srikanth’s early lead helped the Indian win the match.
Srikanth had come into this game after losing to World No 42 Tze Yong NG of Malaysia and had to prove his mettle. The Indian looked aggressive right from the start of the match as he took quick points and gained an early lead. Jia played some fine rallies and challenged Srikanth at occasions but the Indian was not in the mood to let go of his lead. He eventually clinched the first game 21-15 and started the second game on a high as well.
The second game was no different for the two shuttlers as the Indian dominated in the early parts of the game and went into halftime with a lead of four points. However, Jia Heng made a comeback and won quick points to threaten Srikanth. But his body did not aid him well as he injured his left leg while returning a smash from Srikanth.
Jia Heng looked in a lot of pain as he was struggling to get up. However, the Singaporean showed a lot of grit to fight till the very end and also win a few points to keep the Indian shuttler waiting.