Star Indian shuttler HS Prannoy breezed into the quarterfinals with a stunning straight-game win against former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore. Though the curtains were raised for Kidambi Srikanth at the Japan Open Super 750 tournament in Osaka on Thursday.
The 30-year-old had already reached the quarterfinals of the world championship last week. This was Prannoy’s third win over the world-ranked 7 Singaporean in four meetings.
The shuttlers will face Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien Chen, who also won a bronze medal in the World Championship last week in the next quarter-finals match on Friday.
Srikanth, who had shocked world number 5 Malaysian Lee Zii Jia on Wednesday, however, couldn't extend his run as he went down 10-21 16-21 to local favorite and world number 17 Kanta Tsuneyama. The Japanese had also defeated Srikanth in their last meeting at the Korean Open in 2019.
In a battle between two highly-skilled gladiators, it was Prannoy who showed nerves of steel as he fought back from 11-19 and 6-14 down in the two games to come up trumps against his young rival.
Redifining Knocks
Prannoy made a good start but quickly lost momentum with his opponent recording five straight points from 7-8 to move to an 11-8 lead at the break.Loh continued to dominate the rallies after the resumption with his fast-paced game helping him to sit comfortably at 19-11 at one stage. But Prannoy had other ideas.
The Indian soon produced a six-point burst to draw parity at 17-17, and even though Loh grabbed three game points, the Singaporean erred twice with his backhands going to the net.
Then, Prannoy reeled off the remaining points to earn the bragging rights.
In the second game, Loh once again came out with all cylinders blazing to zoom to an 11-4 advantage.He rode on short rallies, while the Indian faltered with his length as his cross-court returns went wide.
But Prannoy showed his steely resolve as he soon scripted a brilliant recovery to claw back at 16-16 after a net exchange.
Prannoy tried to take off the pace in the rallies and make Loh move around with his angled returns.
He also produced some solid body attacks, which Loh couldn't negotiate, and his net play was also superior to his opponent.
The Indian soon grabbed two match points.
Loh saved one before sailing wide as Prannoy continued to impress with his never-say-die attitude.
Star Indian shuttler HS Prannoy breezed into the quarterfinals with a stunning straight-game win against former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore. Though the curtains were raised for Kidambi Srikanth at the Japan Open Super 750 tournament in Osaka on Thursday.
The 30-year-old had already reached the quarterfinals of the world championship last week. This was Prannoy’s third win over the world-ranked 7 Singaporean in four meetings.
The shuttlers will face Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien Chen, who also won a bronze medal in the World Championship last week in the next quarter-finals match on Friday.
Srikanth, who had shocked world number 5 Malaysian Lee Zii Jia on Wednesday, however, couldn't extend his run as he went down 10-21 16-21 to local favorite and world number 17 Kanta Tsuneyama. The Japanese had also defeated Srikanth in their last meeting at the Korean Open in 2019.
In a battle between two highly-skilled gladiators, it was Prannoy who showed nerves of steel as he fought back from 11-19 and 6-14 down in the two games to come up trumps against his young rival.
Redifining Knocks
Prannoy made a good start but quickly lost momentum with his opponent recording five straight points from 7-8 to move to an 11-8 lead at the break.Loh continued to dominate the rallies after the resumption with his fast-paced game helping him to sit comfortably at 19-11 at one stage. But Prannoy had other ideas.
The Indian soon produced a six-point burst to draw parity at 17-17, and even though Loh grabbed three game points, the Singaporean erred twice with his backhands going to the net.
Then, Prannoy reeled off the remaining points to earn the bragging rights.
In the second game, Loh once again came out with all cylinders blazing to zoom to an 11-4 advantage.He rode on short rallies, while the Indian faltered with his length as his cross-court returns went wide.
But Prannoy showed his steely resolve as he soon scripted a brilliant recovery to claw back at 16-16 after a net exchange.
Prannoy tried to take off the pace in the rallies and make Loh move around with his angled returns.
He also produced some solid body attacks, which Loh couldn't negotiate, and his net play was also superior to his opponent.
The Indian soon grabbed two match points.
Loh saved one before sailing wide as Prannoy continued to impress with his never-say-die attitude.
(Inputs from PTI)
