Kidambi Srikanth becomes first Indian man to win silver at BWF World Championships

MADRID: Shuttler Kidambi Srikanth on Sunday became the first Indian man to win a silver medal at the BWF World Championships.

Singapore's Loh Kean Yew defeated Kidambi in the summit clash 21-15, 22-20. The final lasted for 43 minutes.

This is the first time that a men's player from Singapore has won gold at the BWF World Championships.

The 12th-seeded Indian came out all guns blazing and took an early 9-3 lead, but Yew bounced back, winning the first game 21-15. Kidambi was left with all to do in the second game if he wanted to keep his hopes alive of walking away with a gold medal.

Yew carried on with his momentum and he wrapped up the match in straight games.

On Saturday, Srikanth had created history by becoming the first Indian shuttler to enter the final in the men's singles category of the BWF World Championships in Huelva.

In an all-Indian battle, former world number one Srikanth rallied to defeat Lakshya Sen by 17-21, 21-14, 21-17 in a thriller that lasted for one hour and nine minutes.