Malaysia Open : , Satwik . Chirag in semis, Prannoy lost in quarterfinals
Commonwealth Games gold medalists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty defeated BWF World Tour Finals champions Liu Yu Chen and Yu Xuan Yi in three games to storm into the semi-finals of the Malaysia Open Super 750 badminton tournament. The seventh seeded Indian pair beat the Chinese team 17-1. 21, 22. 20, 21. beat 9. They will now face Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang of China. Earlier, India’s HS Prannoy suffered a three-game quarterfinal loss to world number seven Kodai Naraoka of Japan.
The 30-year-old Prannoy from Kerala went down 16-21 21-19 10-21 to 21-year-old Naraoka in a match that lasted 84 minutes. Naraoka, despite playing two long matches in the first round, looked faster and fitter than the Indian. It was Naraoka’s third win in three meetings against Prannoy. He also defeated Prannoy in the Singapore Open and World Tour Finals last year. Prannoy fired some quick winners and fought back from being behind in the opening game but the young rival was in control in the deciding game and the Indian made unforced errors pay the price.
Naraoka, playing in the match after defeating home favorite second seed Li Zi Jia in 73 minutes and Ng Jae Yong in 72 minutes, made it difficult for Prannoy to score points. After the opening game was tied 7-7, the Japanese player took a two-point lead at the break and kept the pressure on. In the second game, Prannoy tried to engage his opponent in long rallies. It worked for a while as he opened up a 13-9 lead but Naraoka took advantage of the Indian’s mistakes to equalize with four straight points.
Prannoy and Naraoka were tied at 18-18 but the Indian hit a well-timed cross court smash to earn two points. Then in a spectacular rally, the Japanese shot out and the match reached a deciding game. In the third game, Prannoy had some leg problems. Naraoka dominated the rallies after taking a 5-3 lead and Prannoy was down five points before the break due to errors of his line. Mistakes by the Indian continued as Naraoka took a 14-6 lead. Prannoy looked tired and then he squandered 12 match points and the match was won by the Japanese player.
