[Saba Sports News] On Day 4 of the US Open, major upsets unfolded in the men’s singles draw. Both LEE Zii Jia and CHOU Tien-Chen were eliminated, failing to reach the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, former world No.1 KIDAMBI Srikanth Nammalwar hit top form and advanced comfortably. In the men’s singles fixture, Rohit Kumar beat CHOU Tien-Chen 21-17, 26-24. Rohit maintained an aggressive attacking game throughout the match, while CHOU struggled to find his rhythm. With one of the pre-tournament title favourites exiting early, Rohit has undoubtedly emerged as the standout dark horse of the event so far. KIDAMBI Srikanth defeated LEE Zii Jia 21-14, 21-13, with LEE suffering a dramatic drop-off in performance. LEE was plagued by unforced errors and forced onto the back foot in every rally, dropping both sets 14-21 and 13-21 without posing any real threat to his opponent. LEE Zii Jia has endured inconsistent form in recent weeks, producing patchy displays across tournaments. His premature exit at this event has left many fans disappointed.
The editor believes that veteran shuttler Srikanth, who has competed on the badminton tour for years, is still going strong on court. Whether he can end his title drought at this tournament remains one of the biggest storylines here.