Swiss Open: Srikanth lone Indian to enter semis

Basel: Star shuttler Kidambi Srikanth emerged as the lone Indian survivor at the Swiss Open Super 300 badminton tournament when he progressed to the semifinals with a straight game win over Chinese Taipei's Chia Hao Lee here.

Playing his eighth tournament this season, Srikanth finally got some momentum as he made his first last-four appearance in 16 months with a 21-10, 21-14 win over Lee in 35 minutes on Friday night.

He last played a semifinal at Hylo Open in November, 2022.

Srikanth, a 2021 World Championships silver medallist, will next face Chinese Taipei's world No. 22 Lin Chun-Yi.

It turned out to be a heartbreaking affair for Kiran George as his gallant fight ended with a 23-21, 17-21, 15-21 loss to Denmark's Rasmus Gemke in another quarterfinal.

Another upcoming Indian Priyanshu Rajawat also found Chou Tien Chen too hot to handle, going down 15-21, 19-21 in a 43 minute clash at the St Jakobshalle Stadium. 

The Indian women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand bowed out after a disappointing straight-game defeat to Australia's Setyana Mapasa and Angela Yu.

The Commonwealth Games bronze medallists, seeded eight here, went down 14-21, 15-21 in 35 minutes to the unseeded duo.