MELBOURNE: World No 9 Prannoy HS entered his third semifinal on the BWF World Tour this year on Friday.
He got past Tokyo Olympic Bronze medallist Indonesia’s Anthony Ginting 16-21, 21-17, 21-14 in men’s singles quarterfinal at the ongoing Australia Open 2023 in Sydney.
Prannoy will be up against world no 31 compatriot Priyanshu Rajawat in the semifinal on Saturday.
On the other hand, Orleans Masters 2023 champion Priyanshu Rajawat cruised through to his first semifinal at BWF World Tour Super 500 event this year as he got the better of compatriot Kidambi Srikanth in straight games 21-13, 21-8 in men’s singles quarterfinal.
Earlier in the day, Indian badminton player PV Sindhu crashed out in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open Badminton after losing to Chinese-born American badminton player Beiwen Zhang 21-12, 21-17.
PV Sindhu is currently ranked World No 17 and Beiwen Zhang is ranked World No 12. Before reaching the quarter-final of the tournament, in the Round of 32, Sindhu defeated Ashmita Chaliha 21-18, 21-13. In the Round of 16, she got the better of Aakarshi Kashyap beating her 21-14, 21-10.
Sindhu has won medals at various tournaments such as the Olympics and on the BWF circuit, including a gold at the 2019 World Championships. She is the first and only Indian to become the badminton world champion and only the second individual athlete from India to win two consecutive medals at the Olympic Games. She rose to a career-high world ranking of No 2 in April 2017. (ANI)