Star shuttler HS Prannoy progressed into the men's singles quarterfinals with a three-game win over compatriot Priyanshu Rajawat at the India Open Super 750 badminton tournament in New Delhi on Thursday.
Playing at the adjacent court, world No. 2 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who are coming into the event after a runner-up finish at Malaysia Open, too sailed into the last 8 with a dominating win over Chinese Taipei's Lu Ching yao and Yang Po Han in men's doubles.
Rajawat dished out some delectable drops and half-smashes to trouble Prannoy to pocket the opening game but after he twisted his ankle in the middle of second game, things spiralled out as Prannoy prevailed 20-22, 21-14, 21-14 in a 76-minute clash.
The World No. 9 will face the winner of the all-Chinese Taipei match between Wang Tzu Wei and Su Li Yang.
Satwik and Chirag, on the other hand, notched up a dominating 21-14, 21-15 win over world No. 25 Lu and Yang.
The Asian Games champions will face Denmark's fifth seeds Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen next.
Prannoy opened up a 6-3 lead initially but Rajawat turned the tables on 9-8 before the experienced Indian managed to take a one-point cushion at the break.
Prannoy moved ahead 13-10 and 18-16 but a four-point burst gave Rajawat two game points. Prannoy, again, drew parity before the Madhya Pradesh shuttler prevailed.
It was a one-way traffic in the second game as Prannoy was up 6-0 in a jiffy but then he started missing the lines as Rajawat narrowed it to 5-9.
Prannoy used deep tosses and was far more polished at the net and was successful in drawing out errors from Rajawat, who seemed to have hurt his ankle during a rally around the mid-game interval.
Prannoy, who had a six-point lead at the break, sprayed a few into the net or tossed one out to allow his younger colleague to make it 10-12.
While Rajawat kept fighting, Prannoy kept his calm and nosed ahead to seven game points when Rajawat committed a net error. He sealed it with a precise toss which Rajawat failed to judge.
Rajawat continued to struggle to control the shuttle, resulting in unforced errors as he conceded a 1-7 lead in the decider. Frustration was writ large on Rajawat's face as Prannoy zoomed to 10-2 before taking a 11-4 lead at the break.
The senior Indian sent the shuttle to the corners to make Rajawat run and then dished out that precise shot on the back or a backhand flick to finish off points. Soon he had seven match points, which he converted, when Rajwat's backhand got buried at the net.
"The first game was very close but I had my chances at 18-16 but he played a steady game towards the end. I was ready to play the second and third game. And I knew I had to kind of stretch it long today to kind of get to the end," Prannoy said.
"I think he twisted his ankle, and unfortunately, couldn't play post that second set, but he was fighting to kind of make sure that he kind of finishes off the game," added Prannoy, who suffered a cut on his right index finger.
Satwik and Chirag had no problems in disposing off their rivals as they led 4-1 before moving to 12-8. They broke off from 16-13 to walk away with the opening game.
In the second, the two pairs fought hard initially before the Indian combination stepped up after the break to comfortably close out the match.
"We had lost to them the last time at Japan, so we wanted to take revenge and I am happy our game plan worked today," Chirag said.
World champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn crashed out of the India Open Super 750 badminton tournament after losing his round of 16 men's singles match to Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu on a day of upsets in New Delhi on Thursday.
The 22-year-old defending champion, who has struggled to cope with expectations following his world championship title win, was edged out 21-16, 20-22, 21-23 by Yiu in an hour and 22 minutes.
Two-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi and reigning All England champion Li Shi Feng too bit the dust.
While world No. 4 Yamaguchi was sent packing by Thailand's world no. 18 Busanan Ongbamrungphan 11-21, 19-21, unseeded Japanese Koki Watanabe outwitted third seeded Chinese Li Shi Feng 32-24, 13-21, 21-9 in a 71-minute clash.
Later, Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia beat fifth seed Jonatan Christie 21-15, 21-13 in another second round match.
It was a narrow loss for Kunlavut, who hasn't won any tournament since competing in Copenhagen.
"Today it wasn't a good performance from me. The last game there was pressure and I couldn't control things. The opponent played well and I need to learn again from every tournament," said world no. 8 Kunlavut, who had won the last edition.
"I am getting better, but I am not yet good enough. I still feel the pressure in the game and sometimes I'm not in control. He was good in his attack and was fast. I need to focus on myself, without thinking about others."
"Every player is fast and strong so I need to train hard and get more fit."
Talking about the upset win, World No. 18 Lee said: "I am happy and excited to beat him. I have lost some tough matches and I always tried to get stronger and better.
"The secret for me has always been to think about myself and not worry about others and play every point and just keep going."
"Now every player has a chance to beat top players. The Olympic is coming soon so that is the final target."
This win means a lot to me: Busanan
Busanan had just one win in 11 meetings against Yamaguchi and said this victory will give her confidence in the Olympic year.
"I had a bad leg injury last season. My body is getting better and today me and my team tried to do more about game plan which was about control the game and it was working," she said.
"This year I am hoping to make a good start. It's a wonderful memory for me here for me as I was a champion here. It is hard to beat her, she can get every shuttle but I kept telling myself that I can do it. This win means a lot to me."
"It will give me important points for Olympics. Our 4-5 players are competing for the Olympic spot. I just try to be the best version of myself, only focus on myself."
Koki Watanabe vs Li Shi Feng
Watanabe came into the match with a 1-3 deficit but dished out a superb performance to outwit the world number 3 Chinese.
"I was playing well, but I got tired in the second game, but once I was back on the winning court, I stepped up the pace and looked at placements as my opponent is a tall guy," said Watanabe, who started playing the sport at the age of 5 after being influenced by his elder sister who was also a shuttler.
Among others, top seed An Se Young, fourth seed Tai Tzu Ying, sixth seed He Bing Jiao progressed to the next round in women's singles, while sixth seed Shi Yuqi and Lee Zii Jia also entered the quarterfinals.
