File photo of HS Prannoy.© AFP
India’s HS Prannoy continued his stellar performance as he entered the semi-finals of the Indonesia Open Super 1000 badminton tournament by defeating world number 13 Rasmus Gemke of Denmark in straight games in Jakarta on Friday. A month after his heroic victory over Gemke in the decisive fifth round against Denmark that ensured India’s entry into the Thomas Cup final, Prannoy went on to beat Denmark’s world number 13 13, 21-14, 21-12. Another great performance. 40 minute quarter final match.
This is the second semi-final for world number 23 Prannoy in the Indonesia event.
He reached the last four in the 2017 edition, during which he defeated former Olympic gold medalist Chen Long and Malaysian great Lee Chong Wei on their way to the semifinals.
Prannoy, who reached the final of the Swiss Open Super 300 in March, will next face China’s Zhao Jun Peng.
Coming into the match with a 2-2 face-to-face count, Prannoy didn’t put a foot wrong as he played some angled cross court shots and reverse slices to maintain a firm grip on the match.
The match saw small rallies with Gemke troubled by a knee problem. Prannoy waited for his opponent to make mistakes and made his attacking comeback whenever he got the chance.
The result was that Prannoy took a 5-0 lead before entering the break with an 11-7 cushion. He kept things under control leading up to the first game.
In the end, a service fault gave the Indian six game points and he sealed it with a smash on his opponent’s forehand corner.
The first half of the second game was a roller-coaster ride as Gemke produced a great fightback. He started off well and came back 6-6 with a smash after going 3-6 at the start.
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Prannoy kept the pressure on his opponent but Gemke again leveled 9-9 with a quick net shot but the Indian ensured a two-point cushion at the interval.
Even after the break, Prannoy continued to dominate the rallies as his opponent’s accurate returns on the forehand and backhand earned him points. A similar shot took the Indian to eight match points and he converted it as he hit the net with a return from Gameke.
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