Indian shuttler H.S. Prannoy continued his giant-killing act to stun World and Olympic champion Chen Long of China to enter the semifinals of the Indonesia Super Series Premier along with K. Srikanth here on Friday.
A day after he defeated three-time Olympic silver medallist and World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei, Prannoy showed his mettle once again as he saw off eighth seed Chen Long 21-18, 16-21, 21-19 in an energy-sapping men’s singles match that lasted an hour and 15 minutes.
A different day
World No. 25 Prannoy, who made his way through the qualifiers, had never defeated the Chinese in their earlier three meetings, but it was a different day as the Indian showed great athleticism and better control in windy conditions to emerge victor and enter his maiden semifinal of a super series event.
Srikanth also reached the last-four round with a 21-15, 21-14 win over Chinese Taipei’s Tzu Wei Wang.
Prannoy will take on the winner of the match between Japanese qualifier Kazumasa Sakai and England’s Rajiv Ouseph, while Srikanth will face Korea second seed Son Wan Ho next.
The results:
Quarterfinals:Men: H.S. Prannoy bt Chen Long (Chn) 21-18, 16-21, 21-19; K. Srikanth bt Tzu Wei Wang (Tpe) 21-15, 21-14 .
