Malaysia Open: Prannoy stuns world No. 4, joins Sindhu in quarters

Kuala Lumpur: Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and Thomas Cup star HS Prannoy secured contrasting wins to enter the quarterfinals of the Malaysia Open Super 750 badminton tournament here on Thursday. Unseeded Prannoy, who won all his matches during India’s historic Thomas Cup triumph this year, registered the biggest upset of the day when he […]

Kuala Lumpur: Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and Thomas Cup star HS Prannoy secured contrasting wins to enter the quarterfinals of the Malaysia Open Super 750 badminton tournament here on Thursday.

Unseeded Prannoy, who won all his matches during India’s historic Thomas Cup triumph this year, registered the biggest upset of the day when he eliminated world No. 4 Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei 21-15,21-7 in contest that lasted more than 30 minutes.

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Fresh from his semifinal finish at the Indonesia Open last week, the 29-year-old was a slow starter in both the games. But once he gained his ground, there was no stopping the Indian, who sealed his last-eight passage with 12 points on the trot. The world No. 21 Indian will next face seventh seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia, against whom his head-to-head record is 3-5.

Former world champion Sindhu took some time to adjust to the game of Thailand youngster Phittayaporn Chaiwan as the world No.7 Indian lost the opening game before pulling off a 19-21,21-9,21-14 win in a 57-minute duel.

Sindhu, seeded seventh, will next face her nemesis Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei, against whom she has a lopsided 5-15 head-to-head record including a string of five losses on the trot.

Parupalli Kashyap, however, failed to make the last-eight round, going down to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn 19-21,10-21. Kashyap produced a superb fight and led the majority of the opening game before going down in an intense battle, while the second game was a breeze for the Thai world No. 18 who won 10 points in a row to seal the issue in 44 minutes.

Meanwhile, men’s doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty gave a walkover to the local pair of Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin. “Satwik pulled a muscle in his core. He was better today but not enough to play and with Commonwealth Games around, the coaches and physios advised him to not play. Hence, Satwik-Chirah pulled out,” said an official.