TAIPEI: India’s ace player HS Prannoy advanced to the quarterfinals of the ongoing Taipei Open 2023 men’s singles event on Thursday.
The World No. 9 Prannoy defeated world No. 95 Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia 21-9, 21-17 in the pre-quarterfinals of the BWF Super 300 tournament.
It was, however, the end of the road for Commonwealth Games 2014 champion Parupalli Kashyap. In the round of 16, the 36-year-old was defeated 16-21, 17-21 by Su Li Yang of Chinese Taipei.
The third-seeded HS Prannoy started well and surged to a 15-5 lead in the first game at the Tian-Mu Arena. The Indian badminton player maintained tight control of the match and easily won the first game.
Early in the second game, HS Prannoy trailed Tommy Sugiarto 3-10. However, he recovered to draw level. With the scores tied at 15-15, Prannoy stepped up and defeated the Indonesian shuttler in 36 minutes.
The 30-year-old player will face Hong Kong’s Ng Ka Long Angus in the quarter-finals.
Earlier in the day, Parupalli Kashyap battled Su Li Yang but the Chinese Taipei shuttler took seven straight points to take 14-8 lead and subsequently dominated to win the first game.
The second game, too, began with a close battle. However, as the game went, Parupalli Kashyap was unable to match Su Li Yang’s energy and was defeated in the contest that lasted 42 minutes.
India’s mixed doubles duo of Rohan Kapoor and N Sikki Reddy were defeated 21-13, 21-18 in the second round by Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Lin Xiao Min. (ANI)