"I don't have a target," says Kidambi Srikanth after reaching Malaysia Masters final

Kidambi Srikanth advanced to the men's singles final at the 2025 Malaysia Masters Super 500 with a 21-18, 22-20 win over Yushi Tanaka of Japan on Saturday.

The win extended Srikanth's fairy tale run in the tournament, having fought his way from the qualification rounds to reach the title clash.

Srikanth will play his first final in the BWF World Tour in six years when he goes up against China's Li Shi Feng on Sunday.

"I don't know, I've lost track of it [of how long it has been since he reached a final]," an elated Srikanth said after his semi-final win over Tanaka.

The former world No 1 had failed to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics last year and had dropped below world No 80 in the BWF world rankings a few weeks back.

Youngsters like Priyanshu Rajawat, Ayush Shetty, Kiran George and others have pipped him in the rankings. Srikanth, however, continued to work hard behind the scenes.

He, however, maintained that he doesn't have any long term targets.

"I obviously don't know [long term plans]. I haven't really planned anything," he said in the mixed zone.

"It's just about being physically fit, being injury free, and then playing how many ever tournaments possible.

"I don't really have a target. It's just about training being physically fit and then playing. Obviously if I play, I play to win," he added.