India’s B. Sai Praneeth stunned World No. 8 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting and progress to the quarterfinals of the BWF World Championships here on Thursday. However, H.S. Prannoy lost to World No. 1 Kento Momota.
World No. 19 Sai Praneeth took just 42 minutes to dispatch sixth-seeded Anthony of Indonesia 21-19, 21-13.
Earlier, Prannoy showed glimpses of brilliance, especially in the opening game, but couldn’t stop Momota from registering a 21-19, 21-12 win, his fifth over the Indian in as many encounters.
In the first game, Praneeth quickly erased a 0-3 deficit to move to 5-8. The Indian kept his strangehold to enter the break with an 11-8 advantage. After the interval, Anthony managed to turn the tables at 14-12, but Praneeth found his rhythm to pocket the opening game with three straight points from 18-19.
In the second, Praneeth raced to a 6-2 lead before Anthony fought back to make it 11-8. After the break, the Indian reeled off six straight points to make it 14-12 and kept marching ahead.
Earlier, Momota dominated the proceedings initially against Prannoy as he moved from an 8-4 lead to grab an 11-7 advantage at the break. Prannoy started putting pressure on his rival after the breather with an attacking game to claw back to 12-12.
57-shot rally
At one stage, after the end of the 57-shot rally, an exhausted Prannoy was on the floor following a perfect net return from the World No. 1.
The results (pre-quarterfinals):Men: Sai Praneeth bt Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 21-19, 21-13; H.S. Prannoy bt Kento Momota 21-19, 21-12 .
