Japan Open: HS Prannoy trumps Kidambi Srikanth, enters quarterfinals
Jul 27, 2023
Tokyo [Japan], July 27 : India's ace player HS Prannoy beat compatriot Kidambi Srikanth in an all-Indian affair to make it to the men’s singles quarter-finals at the ongoing Japan Open 2023 tournament in Tokyo on Thursday.
Playing at Yoyogi National Gymnasium Court 1, Prannoy, ranked 10th in the men’s singles badminton rankings, scripted a fine comeback performance to beat world No. 20 Srikanth 19-21, 21-9, 21-9.
In the exciting first game, Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth battled toe-to-toe. With the scores knotted at 18-all, Srikanth seized control at a critical stage and won the first game.
Despite being down a game, Prannoy replied with style, winning the next two games by large margins to win the match in 57 minutes.
This was Prannoy's third victory over Srikanth in nine matches. Interestingly, Prannoy's most recent victory over his senior compatriot occurred at the 2019 Japan Open.
Meanwhile, Commonwealth Games 2022 champion Lakshya Sen also won his match at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium to make it to the last eight. Sen breezed through his round of 16 match, defeating Japan's Kanta Tsuneyama 21-14, 21-16.
The star duo of India, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who won the Korea Open men’s doubles title last week, also advanced after overpowering the Danish duo of Jeppe Bay and Lasse Molhede 21-17, 21-11. The Indians will face reigning Olympic champions Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin of Chinese Taipei in the quarters.
However in women's doubles, the Indian duo of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand were knocked out after losing a close match against Japan’s Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida. The Indian shuttlers lost 23-21, 21-19.
