"Chair umpire also asked where have you been" – Kidambi Srikanth after runner-up finish at Malaysia Masters 2025

Kidambi Srikanth earned a runner-up finish at the 2025 Malaysia Masters Super 500 in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.

The former world No 1 lost 11-21, 9-21 in straight games to China's Li Shi Feng in men's singles at the Axiata Arena.

The run into the final marked a first BWF World Tour final appearance for Srikanth since 2019. It is also the first individual final he played since his historic silver medal finish at the 2021 BWF World Championships.

Off late, Srikanth has been struggling for form and had even dropped out of top 80 world rankings a few weeks back.

"My chair umpire was also asking, 'where have you been?' I didn't know people really missed me," a relieved Srikanth joked in the mixed zone after his loss in the final.

"But yeah, very happy to be back again," he added.

During the Singapore Open last year, Srikanth endured a fall on the court which pushed him out of action for some time. The injury lay off was a bit longer than expected. It got extended further when he got married in November.

Srikanth returned to action in January earlier this year. He struggled for most of the times and had to make his way through the qualification rounds, thanks to a steep drop in the rankings.

"I started from January and it's always tough when you're coming back from an injury and also from break," he said.

"And then when you haven't really played too many matches it's not easy to come directly and play the tournament. It took some time. I think the positive of everything is that I'm feeling better physically. So I just want to continue from here," he added.