Shutler Srikanth enters Australian Open final

Sydney, June 24 (IANS) Star Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth defeated fourth seed Shi Yuqi of China to reach the final of the Australia Open Superseries badminton tournament here on Saturday.

The Guntur player took only 37 minutes to outplay his Chinese opponent 21-10, 21-14.

The 24-year-old Indian shuttler dominated the proceedings right from the start and finished off in straight games to reach the summit clash.

Srikanth has now reached his third consecutive final. He finished runner-up at the Singapore Open before winning the Indonesia Open title last week.

Placed 11th in the world rankings, Srikanth dominated his fourth ranked rival right from the start, opening up a 6-4 lead in the opening stages of the first game.

The Indian continued to hold the upper hand, building on his lead to go into the break with a healthy 11-7 advantage.

He blew off his the Chinese shuttler after the break, taking four consecutive points to lead 16-9 before another burst of five back to back points saw him take the opening game.

Shi put up more of a fight in the early stages of the second game. The two shuttlers battled neck and neck till 7-7 before a three-point burst saw the Indian take the lead at 10-7.

Another streak of five points saw Srikanth at a commanding 15-8 advantage. The Indian never looked back from there as he sealed off a comfortable victory.