HS Prannoy kept up his impressive run by defeating the experienced Dane Jan O Jorgensen 21-19, 20-22, 21-17 to advanced to the quarterfinals of the Yonex-Sunrise India Open at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on Thursday.
With drift playing tricks, it was not quality fare by Prannoy’s own admission. But beating a former world no. 2 still required significant effort. The Indian, ranked world no. 24, was at his attacking best in the opening game but the Dane fought back in a close second, where errors at crucial stages cost Prannoy dear. The Indian quickly opened a sizeable lead in the final game and though Jorgensen tried to claw his way back, the Dane just couldn’t prevail.
“It was a tough match. Jan was playing really well, the conditions were difficult. The drift was varying in each game, so it was tricky. I had to hang in there. Jan’s game is very tricky, he is very confident on certain strokes and experienced,” Prannoy said.
He was joined in the quarterfinals by B Sai Praneeth, who rallied to edge fifth-seeded compatriot Sameer Verma 18-21, 21-16, 21-15 in an hour and 11 minutes.
This was World No.20 Praneeth’s second consecutive victory over the World No. 15, coming just a week after getting the better of him at the Swiss Open where he made the final.
“When you play an opponent who you play with (frequently), it is obviously tough. We know each other’s weaknesses and strengths,” said Sai who is now up against third seeded Kidambi Srikanth. Srikanth breezed past Lu Guangzu 21-11, 21-16 in the second round.
Also advancing to the quarters was Parupalli Kashyap who made short work of World No 58 Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-11, 21-13. However, it was curtains for Subhankar Dey, who had beaten World No 9 Tommy Sugiarto in the opening round. Dey lost 16-21, 13-21 to Wang Tzu Wei.
It was smooth sailing for 2017 champion Viktor Axelsen who needed just 32 minutes to register 21-11, 21-9 win over Thailand’s Suppanyu Avihingsanon.
In the women’s singles, PV Sindhu was barely stretched against Deng Joy Xuan, winning 21-11, 21-13, and will next play eighth-seeded Dane Mia Blichfeldt. Blichfeldt defeated Riya Mookerjee 21-8, 17-21, 21-13. In another second round match, Chinese third-seeded He Bingjiao beat 2012 Olympic gold medallist Li Xuerui 21-18, 21-17.
In women’s doubles, Aparna Balan and Sruthi KP edged Ng Wing Yung and Yeung Nga Ting 21-19, 7-21, 21-17.
Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Shivam Sharma too reached the last-eight stage, courtesy a 21-15, 21-11 win over Aniruddha Mayekar and Vinay Kumar Singh.
Results (Round 2): Men’s singles: 7-Khosit Phetpradab (Tha) bt Sitthikom Thammasin (Tha) 21-19, 12-21, 21-18, B Sai Praneeth bt 5-Sameer Verma (5) 18-21, 21-16, 21-15, Parupalli Kashyap bt Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk (Tha) 21-11, 21-13, 2-Viktor Axelsen (Den) bt Suppanyu Avihingsanon (Tha) 21-11, 21-9, Wang Tzu Wei (Tpe) bt Subhankar Dey 21-16, 21-13, HS Prannoy bt Jan O Jorgensen (Den) 21-19, 20-22, 21-17, 3-Kidambi Srikanth bt Lu Guangzu (Chn) 21-11, 21-16.
Women’s Singles: 8-Mia Blichfeldt (Den) bt Riya Mookerjee 21-8, 17-21, 21-13, 6-Beiwen Zhang (USA) (6) bt Brittney Tam (Can) 21-6, 21-16, Cheung Ngan Yi (Hkg) bt Disha Gupta (USA) 21-7, 21-8, 7-Han Yue (Chn) bt Chananchida Jucharoen (Thai) 21-13, 21-8, 3-He Bingjiao (Chn) bt Li Xuerui (Chn) 21-18, 21-17, 6-Beiwen Zhang (USA) bt Brittney Tam (Can) 21-6, 21-16, 2-PV Sindhu bt Deng Joy Xuan (Hkg) 21-11, 21-13 , 4-Ratchanok Intanon (Tha) bt Chen Xiaoxin (CHN) 21-18 21-11.