Badminton: HS Prannoy, Sourabh Verma enter quarterfinals in men’s singles in New Zealand Open
H S Prannoy on Thursday advanced to the quarterfinals of the New Zealand Open with a straight-game win over Hong Kong’s Wei Nan in the men’s singles competition of the Grand Prix Gold event.
Fourth seed Prannoy, who had clinched the US Open last month, defeated 10th seed Wei Nan 21-18, 21-19 in a 46-minute match, to set up a clash with 11th seed Lin Yu Hsien of Chinese Taipei.
Former National champion and seventh seed Sourabh Verma also reached the quarters after emerging victorious in an all-Indian pre-quarterfinal battle against Parupalli Kashyap.
The 24-year-old from Dhar prevailed over Kashyap 21-18, 13-21, 21-16 in a close match that last an hour and four minutes at the North Shore Events Centre.
He will next take on either Israel’s Misha Zilberman or Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu.
It was curtains for young Siril Verma after he lost 13-21 14-21 to Chia Hung Lu of Chinese Taipei.
Prannoy had lost to Wei at the Malaysia Open in 2014 but he avenged his loss on Thursday after dishing out a gritty performance.
The World No. 17 Indian was leading 9-5 in the opening game but Wei managed to claw back at 10-10 and then earned a slender edge at the break …read more
