HS Prannoy became the only Indian to reach the quarterfinal stage at the Indonesia Open Super 1000 event at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta as he defeated Ng Ka Long Angus in straight games on Thursday.
Prannoy, ranked 23, showed his full range as a player and converted his third match point, a sensational one at that, to complete a 21-11, 21-18 victory against the world No 12 from Hong Kong.
It is now going to be a rematch of the India-Denmark Thomas Cup semifinal decider as Rasmus Gemke defeated Brice Leverdez, who beat Srikanth Kidambi in the first round, 21-12, 21-15 to set up a quarterfinal against Prannoy.
The 29-year-old, having defeated compatriot Lakshya Sen in the first round, was at the top of his game from the get-go against Angus. He showed incredible control and moved swiftly to build a healthy lead. A few errors towards the end helped the Hong Kong player get to double digits but Prannoy closed out the opener soon after.
The second game was a tighter affair, with Angus staying within touching distance and trailing 9-11 at the interval. But Prannoy raised the intensity again to win five of the next seven points, before going on to complete an impressive victory.
“The second game was close,” Prannoy told BWF after his victory on Thursday. “He found his A game towards the end. But overall I think I played really well today. Apart from the last few points, I think I was playing at my best.”
He added: “I’m pleased with the way I’ve been doing for the past few months. Especially after the Thomas Cup there has been positive energy in the entire camp, which has made it easier for me to work. But I think I need to get better, I need to reach finals of tournaments. That’s where my improvement lies.”
Earlier on Thursday, the rest of the Indians who qualified for the round of 16 stage saw their campaigns come to an end.
Sameer Verma, the other Indian men’s singles player in the fray, was the first one to take the court and he went down in straight games against world No 5 Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia. The 27-year-old, a former world No 11, lost 10-21 13-21 to the sixth-seeded Lee in a 43-minute match. This was Verma’s fifth loss to Lee in seven meetings.
Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy then took the court for a daunting clash with the world No 1 pair of Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan in the women’s doubles competition. The Indians were impressive in the first game and put the top seeds under pressure, before leading 9-8 in the second game too. But the Chinese pair was clinical in crucial moments and registered a 21-16, 21-13 win eventually.
MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila, who had notched up a thrilling three-game win in the first round, took on Liu Yu Chen and Ou Xuan Yi in the round of 16. The Chinese pair, runners-up in two World Tour events earlier this year, had gotten the better of second seeds Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in the first round.
Arjun-Dhruv launched a brilliant fightback after trailing 7-18, they won eight straight points before levelling the score at 18-all. But the Chinese pair found another gear and closed out the opener. The Indians were competitive in the second game too but Liu Yu Chen and Ou Xuan Yi proved to be too strong at the end and completed a 21-19, 21-15 victory in 41 minutes.
The Indonesia Open 2022 quarterfinals will be played on Friday, June 17, 2022, from 11.30 am IST onwards. Prannoy’s will be the ninth match of the session. It can be watched on Sports18 1 SD & HD and the Voot Select app.
