India Open: Prannoy Digs In
HS Prannoy’s first India Open semifinal came as reward after a hard grind, in which the world No.9 had to be on top of his game in a challenging contest with Wang Tzu Wei.
· DEV SUKUMAR
It turned out to be a good day for India, with Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty demolishing the challenge of Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in a testy encounter.
Prannoy was down 10-5 in the third game, but he was well prepared to stick in the rallies, staying alert for Wang’s clever tactical variations. Once he caught up at 14, with the crowd chanting his name and urging him on, Prannoy rode on the momentum, taking the win at 21-11 17-21 21-18.
“It was tough at 5-10. I had to get a lot of things right at that point,” said Prannoy. “Somehow I kept my cool, trusted my defence, and after 11, I opened up the game which made it difficult for him as I was defending well.