Kidambi Srikanth had got an easy draw. If he carried the form that saw him win a record four Superseries titles in 2017, he could have fancied playing one of the two modern legends in badminton: Chinese Lin Dan or Malaysian Lee Chong Wei, in the semifinals of the All England Open.
Instead, Srikanth will most probably watch those two greats fight it out in the quarterfinals from the courtside on Friday after losing his second round match against China's Huang Yuxiang 21-11, 15-21, 20-22.
Srikanth had survived a scare in the first round when Frenchman Brice Leverdez nearly knocked out the World No. 2. Leverdez had said that it was a case of him losing the match rather than the Indian winning it. Srikanth looked at it differently: he was just happy to have stayed strong to escape an upset.
On Thursday, though, the Indian lost his nerve, eventually conceding a match point on his serve. Both players had been inconsistent in the first two games. If Huang was energetic while displaying amazing craft-work with his wrists in the first game, Srikanth improved his court movement and showed more control in the rallies to level the match.
The third game was played at a quick pace, but both players failed to snatch a firm lead as they frequently committed unforced errors. One of Huang's strengths was his supple wrists, which would snap the racquet in directions that caught the Indian on the wrong foot frequently. Leading 14-12, Huang surprised Sirkanth, who was charging to the net, with a lovely overheard winner that flew over the Indian's head to the back of the court. Yet, Huang was also guilty of being overly keen at times which offset the upper hand he had gained.
Pullela Gopichand, the Indian coach, urged Srikanth throughout the match to stay focused and finish off the points quickly. At 13-16, Srikanth pulled back to draw level by rallying strongly with two half smashes. He would go on to take the lead and at 18-16, he sniffed the opportunity to go for the kill. It was now Srikanth's turn to catch Huang on the wrong foot. As Huang rushed to the net during a quick rally, Srikanth flicked the shuttle to his right while the Chinese went the other way. A half smash left Srikanth on match point, but Huang fought back by attacking the Indian's serve the next point.
Srikanth tried hard to retrieve a powerful smash that went to his right, but then a wide shot a few strokes later handed Huang the quarterfinal ticket. Srikanth later said that Huang "matched" him in every department. "He has got the attack. He has very good smashes and his defence is really fantastic. I played really well but could not finish it off." Huang will now face another Indian in the quarterfinals on Friday - HS Prannoy, who reached the last eight stage for the first time in four attempts, after an easy win over Indonesian Tommy Sugiarto.
Srikanth had entered the tournament with the desire of winning it; success in Birmingham would have given him the No.1 rank in the world.
Although he departs the tournament dejected, Srikanth felt he did not have to bother too much about his game, but rather focus more on being patient and holding his nerve.
"It is more about keeping the nerve. It is more about starting well, being there in the rallies until the end and finishing off. In the third I played fairly well. At 20-18 I could not really finish it off. 19-20 and 20-20 were my points really, but I could not finish it off."