Srikanth had moved to within one game of a place in the semi-finals as he took the opener 21-17.

Goh, a member of the Malaysian contingent which earned Asian Games team gold medals at the at Incheon 2014, demonstrated his battling qualities and restored parity by claiming the second game 21-18 to send the intriguing contest to a decider.

The Indian player remained resolute and managed to edge over the winning line, sealing the third 24-22 to complete victory in a marathon match that lasted 76 minutes.

Kidambi will go on to face Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana, the 11th seed, for a spot in the final on Sunday (January 31).

His compatriot and defending champion Parupalli Kashyap failed to join him in the next round as he suffered a 21-16, 18-21, 21-15 reverse at the hands of China’s upcoming star Huang Yuxiang.

The loss ends his attempt at clinching a second successive Syed Modi International Badminton Championships crown and the Chinese player will next meet compatriot Shi Yuqi, gold medallist at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing.

Shi also sent an Indian competitor crashing out of the tournament as he beat Harsheel Dani in straight games 21-14, 21-11.

Men’s doubles top seeds Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen of Denmark managed to progress in comfortable fashion, proving too strong for Taiwanese eighth seeds Lee Sheng-mu and Tsai Chia-Hsin with a 21-12, 21-18 success.

Their opponents in the next round will be V Shem Goh and Wee Kiong Tan of Vietnam, who beat 2014 world champions Ko Sung-hyun and Shin Baek-cheol of South Korea yesterday.

The Vietnamese pair continued their impressive display at the tournament, a part of the Badminton World Federation Grand Prix Gold series, by knocking out Russian sixth seeds Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov.

Sung Ji-hyun of South Korea is the highest-ranked player left in the women’s singles draw and the second seed prolonged her participation at the event by securing her semi-final berth with a 21-19, 21-3 triumph in her clash with Japan’s Yui Hashimoto.

Her reward is a meeting with unseeded Thai player Nitchaon Jindapol, who earned a 21-14, 21-14 win against compatriot Busanan Ongbumrungphan.

Fifth seed Sayaka Sato will entertain Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand tomorrow after she breezed to a quick-fire 21-9, 21-3 victory against Maria Febe Kusumastuti of Indonesia in just 24 minutes.

Chang Ye-na and Lee So-hee, top seeds in the women’s doubles, remain on course for a showdown with compatriots and second seeds Jung Kyung-eun and Shin Seung-chan after both claimed quarter-final wins today.

Chang and Lee dispatched compatriots Go Ah-ra and Yoo Hae-won 21-14, 21-14, while Jung and Shin beat Japanese duo Shizuka Matsuo and Mami Naito 21-9, 21-13.