Indian shuttler shocks two-time world champ and home favourite Kento Momota in straight games to set up Last-16 tie with compatriot Lakshya Sen
HS Prannoy returns to Kento Momota of Japan at Tokyo yesterday. Pic/Getty Images
HS Prannoy stunned second seed Kento Momota in straight games to record a sensational win while reigning Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen also sailed into the men’s singles pre-quarterfinals of the World Championships here on Wednesday. Unseeded Prannoy rose above expectations to shut the door on crowd favourite and two-time former world champion Momota 21-17, 21-16 in a second round tie.
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Incidentally, it was Prannoy’s first win over Momota in eight matches. In their previous clashes, the Indian won only one game against his higher-rated Japanese rival. Earlier in the day, reigning Commonwealth Games champion Sen sailed into the pre-quarterfinals with a straight game win over Spain’s Luis Penalver.
A dejected Kento Momota
The young Indian badminton ace Sen won his second round contest 21-17, 21-10, taking 72 minutes to complete the formality. Prannoy and Sen will face each other in an all-Indian Last 16 clash on Thursday.
Also Read: BWF World Championships: Lakshya Sen sails in Tokyo
Srikanth crashes out
However, last edition’s runner-up Kidambi Srikanth crashed out of after a straight game defeat to World No.32 Zhao Jun Peng. Srikanth went down against his Chinese counterpart 18-21, 17-21 in a match lasting only 34 minutes.
Earlier, the Indian men’s doubles pair of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila moved to the pre-quarterfinals, but Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy made a second round exit from the prestigious tournament. The unseeded Arjun and Kapila upstaged eighth seeds and last edition’s bronze medallists Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark 21-17, 21-16 in their second round match.
Ponnappa and Sikki, on the other hand, were handed a 15-21, 10-21 loss by top seeds Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan of China in 42 minutes. The other women’s doubles pairing of Pooja Dandu and Sanjana Santosh’s also crashed out of the tournament, going down to third seeds Lee So Hee and Shin Seung Chan of Korea 15-21, 7-21.
Chirag-Satwiksairaj win
The eighth seeded men’s doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy thrashed Guatemala’s Solis Jonathan and Anibal Marroquin 21-8, 21-10 to storm into Round of 16, where the duo will be up against Denmark’s Jeppe Bay and Lasse Molhede.
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