Prannoy downs Chou and Lakshya defeats Loh; Srikanth, Sindhu win too

HS Prannoy downed world No 6 Chou Tien Chen in a fiery contest whereas Lakshya Sen defeated former world champions Loh Kean Yew for 2 spectacular headline outcomes for the Indian contingent on Wednesday on the Malaysia Masters Tremendous 500 in Kuala Lumpur.

PV Sindhu and Srikanth Kidambi got here by way of difficult opening spherical fixtures in contrasting vogue to additionally attain the pre-quarterfinals.

Whereas Srikanth got here by way of in straight video games 21-12, 21-16 in opposition to Toma Junior Popov of France, Sindhu was taken to the space by Denmark’s Line Christophersen 21-13, 17-21, 21-18 in a gruelling affair.

Within the males’s singles spherical of 32 conflict between two high 10 gamers (as a result of badminton works that means), Prannoy got here by way of from a recreation down in opposition to Chinese language Taipei’s Chou 16-21, 21-14, 21-13. In one other high-profile opening-round conflict Lakshya Sen defeated former world champion Loh Kean Yew in three video games 21-10, 16-21, 21-9 to enter the spherical of 16.

Earlier within the day, Aakarshi Kashyap bowed out within the first spherical to high seed Akane Yamaguchi. The Japanese shuttler received 21-17, 21-12. And shortly after, Ashmita Chaliha went down in straight video games in opposition to fourth seed Han Yue of China, 21-17, 21-7. Additionally bowing out was Malvika Bansod, in straight-games in opposition to second Wang Zhi Yi 11-21, 13-21.

Fiery win for Prannoy

Prannoy, who got here into the match trailing 3-6 in opposition to Chou, was off to a gradual begin within the opening recreation however a unfastened spell simply after the interval noticed him drop it 16-21. However the Indian picked up the ante from the second recreation, occurring the offensive extra typically and extra importantly reducing down the errors from his recreation. The second recreation noticed the Indian maintain his lead for essentially the most half. The third recreation noticed Prannoy and Chou alternate many hotly-contested rallies. Issues additionally got here to a head when Chou tried to forestall Prannoy from speeding between the factors. The umpire pulled up Chou and some excessive depth rallies adopted. However Prannoy held his personal and pulled away to finally shut it out with an excellent lead.

Prannoy will now face China’s Li Shi Feng subsequent.

Within the eighth assembly in opposition to Singapore’s Loh, Sen was off to an excellent begin within the opening recreation, taking a 9-2 lead. It was principally a breeze for the Indian as Loh struggled to regulate his errors. The second recreation was a hard-fought affair that noticed Sen making an attempt to maintain tempo with Loh. However the 2021 world champion compelled the decider and that meant for the primary time these two have been concerned in a third-game of their conferences.

Sen was off to a sensational begin within the decider as soon as once more, going up 11-2. After that, it was a matter of retaining his nerves as he closed the match out.

Sen will subsequent face Ng Ka Lengthy Angus of Hong Kong.

Easy crusing for Srikanth, something however for Sindhu

Srikanth began off effectively within the opening recreation in opposition to the tall Frenchman who has troubled him previously (2-1 head-to-head). But it surely was the Indian who took cost within the early proceedings and stored Popov at bay for many of the opening recreation. The second recreation noticed Popov take momentum on the mid-way interval however Srikanth got here again effectively to shut it out in straight video games.

Srikanth is within the high quarter of the draw the place Viktor Axelsen has withdrawn. He’ll tackle India Open champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn within the second spherical.

For Sindhu, the beginning was strong sufficient as she took the lead within the match with none want for flashy badminton. However the second recreation noticed Christophersen up the tempo and always bother Sindhu along with her drop pictures. The Indian did effectively to come back again from a deficit and make it 17-17 however the Danish world No 33 pulled forward with 4 straight factors to drive the decider.

The third recreation noticed Sindhu open up an early lead however Christophersen as soon as once more fought again and lead on the ultimate change of ends, even going 16-13 at one stage. However as her errors began to mount, Sindhu regained some management to prevail in a nervy affair and set free an enormous roar on the finish.

Sindhu improved her H2H to 5-0 in opposition to the Dane and can face Japan’s Aya Ohori subsequent in opposition to who she has a 12-0 H2H.

Lakshya Sen too has a troublesome check, beginning off as soon as once more as he did on the Asia Championships, with a first-round battle in opposition to former world champion Loh Kean Yew. Sen leads 4-3 on the H2H in opposition to the Singaporean.

Right here’s a take a look at the schedule for Indians on Thursday:

Extra data on how the matches panned out right here in a Twitter thread.