Image file of HS Prannoy.© AFP
India’s HS Prannoy continued his impressive streak as he advanced to the semi-finals of the Indonesia Open Super 1000 badminton tournament with a straight-set win over world number 13 Rasmus Gemke of Denmark in Jakarta on Friday. More than a month after his heroic victory over Gemke in the decisive Thursday rubberfight against Denmark, which secured India to the Thomas Cup final, Prannoy produced yet another sophisticated performance to overcome over the world number 13 Denmark 21-14 21-12 in a quarter-final that lasted 40 minutes.
It was Prannoy’s second semi-final appearance at the event in Indonesia.
He reached the last four of the 2017 tournament, in which he defeated former Olympic gold medalist Chen Long and Malaysian greats Lee Chong Wei en route to the semi-finals.
Prannoy, who reached the final of the Swiss Open Super 300 in March, will face Zhao Jun Peng of China.
Heading into the game with a 2-2 header, Prannoy didn’t misplace a few shots from the corner and cut the ball back to good effect to keep the game going.
The match was short when Gemke had a knee problem. Prannoy waits for the opponent to make a mistake and launches attacks whenever there is a chance.
As a result, Prannoy galloped up a 5-0 lead before going into the break with a goal that made it 11-7. He kept things under control to lead the first game throughout.
In the end, a serve error gave India a 6-game-point chance and he blocked it with a smash into his opponent’s forehand corner.
The first half of the second game was a roller coaster ride as Gemke delivered a great hit back. He started to move well and regained 6-6 with a smash after falling 3-6 initially.
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Prannoy continued to put pressure on his opponent but Gemke again equalized 9-9 with a quick shot into the net but the Indian secured two points in that time.
Prannoy continued to dominate the rallies after the break as his opponent’s accurate forehand and backhand returned points for him. A similar strike gave the Indian eight match points and he converted it with Gemke’s return strike into the net.
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