HS Prannoy defeated former world champion Loh Kean Yew in a match that swung back and forth like a pendulum, moving on to his third straight quarterfinal at the BWF World Championships.
The Singaporean was pushed for one hour and nine minutes at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen until the ninth-seeded Indian defeated him 21-18, 15-21, 21-19. The winner of Friday’s match between reigning champion and top seed Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and Chinese Taipei’s 10th seed Chou Tien Chen—who is ranked in the world at No. 9—and the world No. 7—will face the winner of this match.
After defeating Indonesian 10th seeds Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin 21-15, 19-21, 21-9 in an hour and a half, second seeds in the men’s doubles Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also maintained their chances of winning a second medal in a row at the annual showcase. This was their second victory against the in as many meetings.
Next, Rankireddy and Shetty will compete against the 11th-seeded Danish team of Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen for a medal-guaranteed semifinal spot. The eighth encounter between the two pairs will take place, with the Danes holding a 5-2 advantage in head-to-head games.
Lakshya Sen, however, as well as the female duo of Treesa Jolly and P Gayatri Gopichand, had reached their breaking point. Sen, the 11th seed and 2021 bronze medalist, lost to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the Round of 16 14-21, 21-16, 13-21, and Treesa and Gayatri fell to top seeds Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan of China 14-21, 9-21.
Featured Image: Scroll.in