Shenzhen [China]: India’s ace shuttler HS Prannoy bowed out of the ongoing China Masters 2023 tournament after losing his Round of 16 clash against Japan’s Kodai Naraoka on Friday.
Prannoy’s errors on the court played a major role in his downfall. At the beginning of the first set, it was evident that Prannoy couldn’t place some of his shots as he allowed Kodai to take a two-point lead following a shot that went wide. A couple of more errors followed as the Japanese shuttler established a comfortable five-point lead as the scoreline read 8-3.
At the mid-game break, Prannoy looked completely out of the position to force a comeback as he trailed by 4-11. Kodai capitalised on the opportunity and sealed the first set in his favour with a scoreline of 21-9.
In the second game, the Indian shuttler showed more intent and managed to lead for the first time in the entire game. His slender lead lasted for some time but Kodai eventually got back in front at the mid-game break with a scoreline of 11-10.
After the break, Prannoy yet again made more mistakes which gave Kodai breathing space and extended his lead (16-13). Prannoy failed to get back into the game and ended up crashing out of the tournament after losing the second set by 21-14.
Meanwhile, India’s star shuttler duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty stormed into the semi-final.
While facing the Indonesian pair of Daniel Marthin and Leo Rolly Carnando the top-seed Indian pair exercised control throughout the game which lasted for around 46 minutes. In the first set, the Indian pair clinched a comfortable 21-15 victory.
The game started on equal footing as the scoreline read 14-14 with both pairs playing on the attacking front. But the Indian pair levelled up their game and took away the first set.
In the second set, Satwik and Chirag continued to ride high on confidence and established an early lead. The Indian pair continued to attack and eventually took away the game with a 21-16 victory. They will now face the Chinese pair of He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu in the semi-final clash.
