New Delhi, April 27: India had a mixed day at the Asia Badminton Championship in Wuhan on Friday (April 27) as HS Prannoy and Saina Nehwal won their quarter-final games while shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth and PV Sindhu crashed out of the tournament.
Sindhu failed to get across 2015 World Championships bronze medallist Sung Ji Hyun, an opponent she has played 11 times. Srikanth lost to Malaysian legend Lee Chong Wei as it turned out to be a rematch of 2018 Commonwealth Games final. Wei had defeated Srikanth in the final showdown back then.
Super wins @NSaina @PRANNOYHSPRI 👏👏 🏸🏸 👌👌Congratulations n good luck tomorrow ..
— Parupalli Kashyap (@parupallik) April 27, 2018
Meanwhile, World No. 10 HS Prannoy progressed to the semi-finals of the men's singles segment. Prannoy, who had missed out of a medal at the Commonwealth Games, dug deep into his reservoir to eke out a hard-fought 18-21, 23-21, 21-12 win over second-seeded Korean Son Wan Ho in a match that lasted an hour and 12 minutes. He will face Olympic champion and third seed Chen Long next.
Earlier, Sindhu, who had recovered from an ankle sprain midway through the Commonwealth Games, squandered a 16-12 advantage to allow Sung Ji pocket the opening game.
. @PRANNOYHSPRI pulls off a thriller against No 2 Seed, Son Wan Ho!
— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) April 27, 2018
After trailing in the first game, comes back to win the match 18-21; 23-21;21-12 and assures India 🇮🇳a medal. Will play Chen Long in the semis of #BAC2018 #IndiaontheRise #BestofBadmitnon pic.twitter.com/kMaCkB8PmF
Sindhu simply wasn't good enough in the second game as the Korean jumped to a 5-1 lead and kept her nose ahead at 11-9 during the interval. The world no 9 reeled off seven straight points to double her lead and soon shut the doors on the Indian.
A lot was also expected from Kidambi Srikanth after his win over Lee Chong Wei en route to India's maiden gold in mixed team event at CWG but the Malaysian came out all guns blazing against the Indian, moving to a massive 13-4 lead in the opening game and closing the opening game without breaking a sweat.
Baddies are on the roll! 👊🏻
— PBL India (@PBLIndiaLive) April 27, 2018
Presenting you the Semi-finalists of the #BAC2018. 🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/E9suHkowvJ
Chong Wei, who had defeated Srikanth for the individual gold at Gold Coast, kept his distance from the Indian in the second game as well after moving to a 10-8 lead. Despite Srikanth's best efforts, Chong Wei walked away with the game and the match.
Saina, who defeated compatriot Sindhu in the CWG gold medal contest, defeated Korea's Lee Jang Mi in straight sets 21-15, 21-13 and booked her place in the semis. The Hyderabadi shuttler will set up a semi-final date with world No.2 Tai Tzu Ying.
(With inputs from PTI)