India’s HS Prannoy edged out his quarterfinal opponent Anthony Sinisuka Ginting at the ongoing Australia Open on Thursday. The win ensured that the veteran Indian shuttler moved into the final four of the tournament.
The 31-year-old Indian dug deep to register a come-from-bein win over the Indonesian as he claimed a 16-21 21-17 21-14 win over his rival to enter the semifinals of the event.
Young shuttler Priyanshu Rajawat got the better of compatriot Kidambi Srikanth 21-13 21-8 in a one-sided game to also reach the semifinals of the Super 500 tournament for the very first time in his fledgling career.
The two players are set to face off against one another in the final four clash of the event on Saturday, with the winner earning the right to play in the summit clash down under.
However, two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu was shown the exit door by USA’s Beiwen Zhang, as the Indian badminton star crashed out following her 12-21 17-21 loss in a game that lasted 39 minutes.
Sindhu, who had a vastly superior head-to-head record against the 12th ranked player, found herself surprised as the player who was beaten in resounding fashion time and again by the ace Indian shuttler sprang a surprise.
Sindhu had beaten compatriots Ashmita Chaliha and Aakarshi Kashyap in the first two rounds but ultimately ended up losing her encounter against Zhang .
Prannoy fell behind right at the start of his game as the Indian was reeling at 6-11 at the break and the Indonesian managed t hold his advantage and see out the opening game of the encounter in his favour.
But Prannoy hit back in the second game as he pulled above his opponent following a break when things were tied up at 9 points apiece. There was no looking back for the player there on out as he closed out game two to level the proceedings.
In the third game, Prannoy went ahead early and did not surrender the lead as he polished off yet another successful game to reach the semis of the event.
Prannoy has a 1-0 head-to-head lead over Rajawat, having picked up a win over the youngster at the Syed Modi International in 2022.
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