Australia Open: PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth out, HS Prannoy to face Priyanshu Rajawat in semi-finals
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Sydney: Two-time Olympic medalist P V Sindhu Australia Open Badminton women’s singles quarterfinal exit with straight game loss to America’s Beiwen Zhang but H S Pranay And young Priyanshu Rajawat confirmed his place in the last four with the win. Prannoy and Rajawat would face each other in the semi-finals of the men’s singles, thereby ensuring the presence of an Indian in the final of the tournament. Orleans Masters champion Rajawat stormed into the semi-finals of a Super 500 tournament for the first time with a 21-13, 21-8 win over compatriot Kidambi Srikanth in a one-sided quarter-final.
Prannoy defeated world no.
World number nine HS Prannoy, however, had to fight it out against world number two Anthony Sinisuka Jinting of Indonesia. He came back after trailing in the opening game of the 73-minute match to win 16-21, 21-17, 21-14. Sindhu, who slipped to No. 17 in the world rankings due to early exits in the last several tournaments, was defeated by world No. 12 Zhang 21-12, 21-17 in 39 minutes.
Sindhu lost to American player
In the last ten matches, Sindhu has defeated Zhang six times but the American player of Chinese origin could not overcome today. Sindhu had defeated compatriots Ashmita Chaliha and Aakarshi Kashyap in the first two rounds but the loss to Zhang was disappointing. Now she will play the World Championship in Copenhagen, Denmark from 21 to 27 August. World Championship 2019 winner Sindhu is going through bad form after recovering from injury. She made early exits in seven of the 12 BWF World Tour tournaments this year.
Pranay won in tough competition
At the beginning of the year, he parted ways with Korea’s Park Tae Sang and briefly worked with SAI coach Vidhi Chowdhary. Now he has a new coach Mohammad Hafeez Hashim who has been the 2003 All England Champion. The contest between Pranay and Jinting was evenly matched from the beginning. At the beginning of the first game, both were tied at 2-2. Prannoy was defeated in the last match (All England Championship) between the two players. Jinting continued to dominate the sixth seeded Indian player with brilliant rallies and took an 11-6 lead at the break.
Pranay seen in excellent rhythm
Prannoy collected some points after this but he failed to bridge the gap. The tough fight between the two continued in the second game as well. The score was tied at 9-9 but Prannoy took a two-point lead before going for the break. He continued his good form and extended his lead to 14-9 but Jinting reduced the gap to 12-15. After this, the Indian player scored seven game points by scoring consecutive points. Though he squandered four game points, he made no mistake in the fifth as the match dragged into the deciding game.
Prannoy and Rajawat will compete in the semi-finals
Prannoy made a good start in the third game with a 4-0 lead but Jinting managed to make it 7-8. The Indian player, however, took an 11-7 lead at the break and 15-8 after the break. Jinting kept the excitement going by scoring five points in a row. Prannoy, however, raised the level of his game after this and defeated the top seeded player. Prannoy will head into the semi-finals with a 1-0 lead against world number 31 Rajawat, who defeated him at the Syed Modi International in 2022.
Rajawat belongs to Madhya Pradesh
The 21-year-old Rajawat from Madhya Pradesh joined Pullela Gopichand’s Gwalior Academy at the age of eight. He has improved a lot in his game in the last one year. Rajawat has given tough competition to top players this season in Jinting, Japan’s Kodai Naraoka and compatriot Lakshya Sen in three-game matches. In a clash between experienced and fast-rising players in the international circuit, Rajawat dominated Srikanth with an 11-6 lead at the break of the first game.
Srikanth lost to Rajawat
After the break, the former world number one won five of the next seven points to extend the lead to 11-13. Rajawat then took a 19-13 lead with four consecutive points and Srikanth was able to bridge it. After losing the first game, Srikanth came under pressure and the youngster took an 11-3 lead over him. Srikanth collected some points after this but he could not compete with Rajawat from anywhere.
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