Kidambi Srikanth beat younger compatriot Lakshya Sen 17-21, 21-14, 21-17 in the semifinals of the BWF World Championships to enter his first final at this highest of BWF stages. This is the culmination of a remarkable resurgence in which Srikanth told ESPN that he he had to "start from scratch." Now he stands on the cusp of climbing to the very top of the sport.
Lakshya, 20, took control of the match early as a nervous Srikanth committed multiple errors. Keeping his calm at the crucial moments, Lakshya took the first game 21-17. He was then in control of the second game, leading 8-4 at one stage, before Srikanth upped the ante. With a barrage of smashes at the net interspersed with delicious disguised drops, Srikanth seized control of the match.
The third game saw neither gain control till the very end. Tired and breathless at times, the two battled it out before Srikanth switched into fifth gear and motored away with some tremendous smashing.
Lakshya now travels home a bronze medallist at his debut Worlds (the only other Indian to medal on debut at this stage? A certain PV Sindhu, who won bronze back in 2013).
Srikanth, meanwhile, has a crack at the ultimate prize on the BWF Tour. We'll be right here to cover it all, but in the meantime, you can read through what happened through our live blog --
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