HS Prannoy continued his sensational run as he outwitted compatriot Lakshya Sen in a pulsating three-game thriller within the Malaysia Open Tremendous 1000 badminton event on Wednesday.
After zooming to world quantity 8 in 2022, Prannoy lived as much as his new standing as India’s best-ranked males’s singles participant with a come-from-behind 22-24, 21-12, 21-18 victory over Sen, ranked tenth, in an edgy opening spherical contest that went for little over an hour.
The 30-year-old from Kerala will subsequent face both Indonesia’s Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo or Danish veteran Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus.
Prannoy and Sen performed 5 instances in 2022, with Sen coming into the match with a slender 3-2 benefit.
The 2 performed at a excessive tempo, and it was Prannoy, who managed to seize a two-point lead on the break, however Sen quickly drew parity at 13-13. Following just a few disputable line calls, the duo was locked at 19-19 at one stage. Sen then earned a recreation level however squandered it. Quickly Prannoy grabbed two recreation factors at 21-20 and 22-21, however he, too, ceded the benefit as Sen ultimately managed to nostril forward after grabbing one other recreation level.
Within the second recreation, Prannoy was 4-1 up, with Sen committing a sequence of unforced errors. The Almora shuttler tried to play aggressively, creating acute angles, however his senior colleague was at all times a step forward.
With Sen struggling, Prannoy rushed to a 9 game-point benefit. Sen saved one earlier than the Kerala shuttler sealed it with a smash to roar again into the competition.
Within the decider, Sen moved into an 8-4 benefit, however Prannoy erased the deficit and clawed again at 9-9 with a flurry of smashes earlier than coming into the break with a slender lead after dominating a parallel recreation.
After the ultimate change of ends, Prannoy opened up a three-point lead with higher placements and sharp strokeplay.
Sen’s try to go for the strains backfired as quickly it was an 18-14 benefit to Prannoy.
A push on the again line earned Prannoy three match factors, and he sealed it with one other backhand block which kissed the road though Sen appeared upset with the road name and flung his racquet in frustration.
