Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth went down fighting in the semifinal of the Canada Open Super 300 on Saturday night. Playing his second semifinal in 2025, Srikanth won the opening game but conceded the lead against Kenta Nishimoto of Japan, eventually losing 21-19, 14-21, 18-21. Earlier this year, Srikanth had also lost in the final of the Malaysia Masters. Nishimoto bounced back in the second and third games to reach the final after a one-hour-and-18-minute battle.

In the deciding game, Srikanth and Nishimoto were level at 18-18 when the Japanese shuttler pounced on a weak return. Srikanth then sprayed two shots wide, handing over the match to Nishimoto.

Srikanth, the World Championships silver medallist, had earlier stormed into the semifinals by stunning World No. 6 and top seed Chou Tien Chen at the Markham Pan Am Centre. The former World No. 1 saw off Chou, the Indonesia Open Super 1000 runner-up, in straight games (21-18, 21-9) in just 43 minutes to reach his second semifinal of 2025.

Srikanth defeated compatriot Priyanshu Rajawat in a three-game contest in the first round. The 31-year-old had not dropped a game since, showcasing his regained form and ability to maintain rhythm throughout the tournament. He defeated Wang Po-Wei of Chinese Taipei 21-19, 21-14 in the second round to cruise into the quarterfinals. However, his quest for a first title since the 2017 French Open continues.

S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian, the 2022 World Junior Championships silver medallist, produced a gallant fight before going down to Nishimoto 15-21, 21-5, 17-21 in a gruelling 79-minute quarterfinal. In women’s singles, Shriyanshi Valishetty’s impressive run came to an end after she lost to Denmark’s Amalie Schulz.