Dubai World Superseries Finals 2017: Kidambi Srikanth's last-four chances end after loss to Chou Tien Chen

Dubai: Kidambi Srikanth slumped to his second consecutive defeat after losing to Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen in straight games, crashing out of the Dubai Super Series Final on Thursday. Even though Srikanth still has a match left in Group B, he virtually has no chance of making the next stage. Srikanth, who suffered a defeat to World No 1 and defending champion Viktor Axelsen in his opening match on Wednesday, failed to improve upon his game and went down 21-18, 21-18 in the $1 million event. [caption id=“attachment_3708861” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Kidambi Srikanth. AP[/caption] World No 7 Taiwan took 43 minutes to stun the fourth ranked Indian in a Group B men’s singles match. Srikanth will face All England Open finalist Shi Yuqi of China on Friday in his last and final match of Group B. Shi Yuqi, who had defeated Chou in his opening match on Wednesday, eked out a 13-21, 21-18, 21-17 win over Axelsen on Thursday to top Group B. The in-form Shi Yuqi will be hoping to beat Srikanth on Friday, but even if the Indian manages to get the better of the World No 8 Chinese in straight games, it would not be possible for him to make the cut. The winner of the match between Axelsen and Chou will advance to the knockouts as the second player from Group B after Shi Yuqi. Srikanth on Thursday failed to bring out his top game again as he lagged behind from the very beginning. Having conceded a 0-5 lead in the opening game, Srikanth was always playing catch up and eventually lost the first game 18-21. Although he put up a better performance in the second game, Srikanth could not sustain the momentum till the end. Despite leading 17-14 at one stage, Srikanth let his Taiwanese opponent gain three straight points to catch him at 17-17. At 18-18, the Taiwan player reeled off three crucial points to wrap up the match in style.