Former world No. 1 Srikanth went from the qualifiers to the final of the 2025 Malaysia Badminton Super 500 Championship

India's Srikanth, who was once ranked No. 1 in the world, is ranked 65th in the world at the 2025 Malaysia Badminton Super 500 Championships, but his journey from qualifiers to the final is exciting. The former world runner-up, who has restarted from the trough, said that his current situation does not bother him, after all, he has experienced the same situation as early as his debut.

Srikanth defeated Japanese No. 24 Japanese star Yushi Tanaka 21-18, 24-22 in the men's singles semi-finals of the Malaysia Masters on the 24th

After suffering an ankle injury and fitness problems last year, Srikanth spent nearly half a year recuperating in the second half of the year, and this year he made his comeback, having risen to world No. 1 in 2018 and dropping to No. 94 in the world rankings, allowing him to compete in Super 500 and above tournaments from qualifying.

Since his comeback this year, Srikanth has stopped in qualifiers twice, fallen in the first round once, and exited three times before participating in the Malaysia Masters, and only in the Thailand Super 300 has a better result and successfully advanced to the top 8. However, Srikan is now back in form in Malaysia, and he has beaten six consecutive levels from two qualifiers to the final, which is an exciting performance.

Srikan defeated Japanese No. 24 Japanese star Yoshishi Tanaka 21-18, 24-22 in the men's singles semi-finals of the Malaysia Masters on the 24th. He will face a tough challenge in the final against China's world No. 4 Li Shifeng. This is Srikan's second time in four years after losing to Singapore's Loh Kean Yew in the final of the 2021 Badminton World Championships, and his last title was the 2017 French Open during the Superseries period. As a result, Josrikan's success tomorrow will see him claim his first BWF World Tour title.

The 32-year-old is back in form after a six-month break from injury last year.

Speaking about progressing to the final after six hurdles, Srikanth said after the match: "Obviously very happy and happy with my performance today. I was actually behind in the second game and then I was able to come back from that situation and I'm really happy. ”

It doesn't bother to start over. When sharing his psychological changes from being world No. 1 to going through injuries and having to start from qualifiers, Srikanth, who was relaxed in an interview, said: "Frankly, I've won a lot of fights and been world No. 1, so I'm not too bothered and upset about where I'm at. I was recovering from an injury and the focus was on recovery, and I wanted to get back to my best, so I gave myself plenty of time. Right now, I'm feeling really good. "When I first started playing international about 10 or 12 years ago, I started playing in qualifiers and worked my way up to become world No. 1, so I don't feel like anything about playing in the qualifiers now."

Because of his love for badminton, he strives to come back from injury. Srikanth also said he was trying to make a comeback after an injury at an age because of love, "I just love the sport, that's all, nothing else. He also said he also has his sights set on winning major tournaments such as the World Championships and the Asian Championships, "The most important thing for me is to stay fit and not have any more injuries. I want to win every game I play, I don't want to play with an injury, I want to train enough to keep going in the game. "I really need to accumulate some points now to try to get back into the top 32 so I can avoid qualifying, so I'm going to do my best."