Praneeth storms into semifinals

Young Indian shuttler Sai Praneeth B and men’s doubles pair of Tarun Kona and Arun Vishnu advanced to the semifinals of the Vietnam International Challenge at Hanoi on Friday.

Fourth seed Sai Praneeth notched up a 21-15, 21-15 victory over Thammasin Sitthikom of Thailand in a men’s singles match that lasted for 40 minutes. The Indian will next take on top seed Zi Liang Derek Wong on Saturday.

The 19-year-old from Hyderabad had defeated Chinese Taipei’s Han Chou Chu 21-15, 21-18 in the quarterfinal match last night.

Seventh-seeded Indians Tarun Kona and Arun Vishnu beat Chinese Taipei’s Chu-En Huang and Chia Yu Lin 21-17, 21-19 in a 32-minute match in the men’s doubles competition.

The duo will take on Indonesian pair of Ricky Karanda Suwardi and Muhamad Ulinuha on Saturday.

Among other Indians in fray, fifth seeds Pranav Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar suffered a 14-21, 21-13, 18-21 loss to second seeds Gideon Markus Fernaldi and Agripinna Prima Rahmanto Putra. Aparna Balan and Siki Reddy N lost to Malaysian pair of Amelia Alicia Anscelly and Fie Cho Soong 21-19, 14-21, 17-21 in 50 minutes.