Pathumwan [Thailand], January 30 : India shuttler Kidambi Srikanth moved to the quarter-finals of the men's singles event in the ongoing Thailand Masters 2025 badminton tournament with a straightforward victory in Pathumwan on Thursday.
The former world No. 1 shuttler defeated Hong Kong China's Jason Gunawan, 41st in the badminton rankings, 21-19, 21-15 in their round of 16 match at the Nimibutr Stadium.
This recent triumph marked Srikanth's second straight-game win over Gunawan in as many meetings. Gunawan made a positive start to the game and led 6-2 in the early exchanges before the Indian shuttler made a glorious comeback to cut down the deficit to 11-9 at the mid-game break.
Both shuttlers kept each other at arm's length for the rest of the game before Srikanth used his considerable experience to seal the opening game in his favour.
In the second game, it was Srikanth, who asserted dominance and led 11-8 at the halfway stage. From that point, the Indian shuttler didn't give away any opening and kept his guard up to settle the match.
In India's other men's singles match on Thursday, Sankar Subramanian orchestrated a remarkable fightback to defeat Indonesia's Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo with a 9-21, 21-10, 21-17 scoreline in 59 minutes.
Subramanian lost the opening game against the Indonesian third seed but bounced back flawlessly to win the second and take the match into the deciding game.
Sankar, ranked 68th in the badminton rankings, was down 14-9 in the decider but turned the tides with a spirited comeback to win the third game and move into the quarter-finals.
Both Indian shuttlers will face opponents from the People's Republic of China in the quarter-finals. Srikanth will face sixth seed Zheng Xing Wang while Sankar will square off against Xuan Chen Zhu.
In women's singles action, India's Rakshitha Ramraj ousted Tung Ciou-tong of Chinese Taipei 21-15, 21-12 in a match that lasted 40 minutes.
Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy and Sai Pratheek K also won their round of 16 men's doubles match against Thailand's Vichayapong Kanjanakeereewong and Narueset Laotherdpong by 14-21, 21-10, 21-9.
Earlier, Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde lost their round of 16 clash against local favourites Ratchapol Makkasasithorn and Ruethaichanok Laisuan in straight sets by 21-19, 21-15.