Bukit Jalil, May 24 -- Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth registered win over France's Toma Junior Popov in the quarterfinals and progressed to the semi-finals of the Malaysia Masters 2025 badminton tournament in Bukit Jalil, as reported by Olympics.com.

Currently ranked 65th in the badminton rankings, Srikanth came from behind in the decider to register a gritty 24-22, 17-21, 22-20 win over world No. 18 Popov in a match that lasted one hour and 14 minutes on Friday.

This will be Srikanth's first semi-final appearance of the year. His last top-four finish on the BWF World Tour was at the Swiss Open Super 300 in March 2024.

The Indian badminton player made a brisk start, surging to a 7-4 lead in the opening game, only for Popov to claw...