Shuttler Kidambi Srikanth crashes out of Rio Games with quarterfinal loss

Srikanth came back strongly after losing the first game 21-6, but could not hold his lead in the third game.

India's hopes of a medal in badminton men's singles ended as Kidambi Srikanth was defeated by World No. 3, Lin Dan, in the quarterfinals at the Rio Olympics on Wednesday.

According to reports, Srikanth lost the first game 21-6. The game lasted just 16 minutes and saw Lin Dan take a lead of 12-1 before Srikanth earned his second point of the game.

However, Srikanth game back strong, beating 'Super Dan' 21-11 in the second game. Srikanth dominated most of the game which lasted for 19 minutes.

The final game was a see-saw struggle, with Dan and Srikanth taking the lead from the other on multiple occasions. After Dan led 5-1, Srikanth came back to lead 11-8. However, a strong finish from the Chinese shuttler saw him emerge victorious with a score of 21-18.

India's medal hopes now rest mainly on PV Sindhu, who is set to face Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in the badminton women's singles semifinal on Thursday.