H. S. Prannoy advanced beyond a testing phase in the final against a quick-witted Wang Tzu Wei, encouraged by an enthusiastic crowd, to secure a spot in his first-ever India Open badminton semifinals here on Friday.
He advanced beyond a testing phase in the final against a quick-witted Wang Tzu Wei, encouraged by an enthusiastic crowd, to secure a spot in his first-ever India Open badminton semifinals here on Friday.
Prannoy overcame a 5-10 disadvantage to tie the score at 14, jumped ahead at 17–16, and scored a second match-point to win 21–17, 17–21, and 21–19 in 77 minutes in a tight third game.
In the semifinals on Saturday, the eighth seed will now play Shi Yuqi, a sixth seed from China.
In the last match of the day, fifth-seeded Danish opponents Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen were soundly defeated by Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, 21-7, 21-10. The second seeds undoubtedly benefited from having Mathias Boe, the former doubles specialist from Denmark, on their side.
The Indians had only defeated the Danes three times in their previous nine matches. The Indian duo is the new favourites for the trophy after the World No. 1 Chinese pair of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Cheng were eliminated late last night after playing their Thai opponents.
Featured Image: Scroll.in