Odense: HS Prannoy’s second successive win over three-time Olympic silver medallist Lee Chong Wei was the highlight on a day when Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth also made the quarterfinals of Denmark Open Super Series Premier badminton tournament here.
Just four months back, Prannoy had created a flutter when he dispatched Chong Wei in straight games in the Indonesia Super Series Premier and the unseeded Indian dished out another superb performance Thursday to oust the former World No.1 Malaysian 21-17, 11-21, 21-19 in a match that lasted an hour and three minutes here.
World No.8 Srikanth, who already has two super series titles at Indonesia and Australia to his name, defeated Korea’s Jeon Hyeok Jin 21-13, 8-21, 21-18, while Saina, who won a bronze at the Glasgow World Championship, prevailed over Thailand’s Nitchaon Jindapol 22-20, 21-13 in women’s singles pre-quarterfinals.
Also through to the quarters were England’s Rajiv Ouseph, Hong Kong’s Wong Wing Ki Vincent, Korea’s Lee Hyun Il, Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen.
The 25-year-old Indian Prannoy started off well against Chong Wei and dictated terms as he built up a 10-7 lead but the former World No.1 levelled par with a lucky net chord before entering the break with a slender lead when the Indian’s return missed the sideline.
Chong Wei held on to his lead till 14-13 when Prannoy unleashed a jump smash to draw parity and then went into the lead. But a return going to net meant it was evens-stevens again. The Indian soon jumped to a 18-15 lead before two quick reflex smashes helped him to narrow the gap. However, Prannoy again unleashed two precise smashes on his rival’s forehand to grab three game points and sealed it with another deceptive return which Chong Wei failed to ward off.
The second game begun with both committing unforced errors. Prannoy won a video referral and held a 4-3 lead when Chong Wei hit wide. The Indian then hit the net a few times to allow the Malaysian lead 8-6. With Prannoy struggling with unforced errors, Chong Wei moved into the break with a 11-8 lead.
Chong Wei extended the advantage to 14-8 before Prannoy unleashed two powerful returns to let out a scream. However, the Indian couldn’t reign in his errors as Chong Wei eventually managed to take the match to the decider.
Results
HS Prannoy bt Lee Chong Wei 21-17, 11-21, 21-19
Kidambi Srikanth bt Jeon Hyeok Jin 21-13, 8-21, 21-18
Saina Nehwal bt Nitchaon Jindapol 22-20, 21-13
Press Trust of India
