Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth reached his first final of 2026 after defeating Japan's Yudai Okimoto 22-20, 15-21, 21-19 in the US Open Badminton semifinals. He will face Chinese Taipei's Su Li Yang for the title. Teen qualifier Rounak Chouhan and India's Devika Sihag bowed out in the semifinals after impressive campaigns.

Fullerton (US): Former world number one Kidambi Srikanth reached his first final of the year with a hard-fought win over Japan’s Yudai Okimoto in the men’s semifinals of the US Open Badminton tournament here on Sunday (IST).

The 33-year-old got the better of fourth seed Okimoto 22-20, 15-21, 21-19 in an hour and 12 minutes.

Srikanth kept his nerve in the opening game after Okimoto had fought back from an 11-17 deficit to earn a game point. The Indian saved the point and won the next two to take the advantage. The Japanese shuttler, however, forced a decider with a strong showing in the second game.

The final game followed a similar script to the first as Srikanth opened up a 10-5 lead only for Okimoto to draw level at 12-all. Srikanth then pocketed six straight points, 12-13, before conceding five himself to make it 18-all. The Indian then relied on his experience to mix up the pace and wrap up the match.