Prannoy stuns Olympic champion Long, enters semi-finals

There was no stopping Indian shut t ler H S Prannoy’s giantkilling spree as he stunned World and Olympic Champion Chen Long to enter the semifinals of the Indonesia Super Series Premier along with Kidambi Srikanth, on Friday.

A day after he dispatched threetime Olympic silver medallist and World No.3 Lee Chong Wei, Prannoy proved his mettle once again, beating eighth seed Chen Long 21-18, 16-21, 21-19 in men’s singles match that lasted an hour and 15 minutes.

Compatriot Srikanth, who was playing on another court, also reached the last four round with a 21-15, 21-14 win over Chinese Taipei’s Tzu Wei Wang. “It was an extremely tough match today. But I was confident of doing well. I guess it is because of better fitness that I could play till the end,” Prannoy said.

World No.25 Prannoy, who made his way through the qualifiers, had never defeated the Chinese in their earlier three meetings but it proved to be a different day. The Indian showed better control in windy conditions to emerge victorious and enter his maiden semifinal of a super series event. Prannoy will take on Japan’s Kazumasa Sakai, while Srikanth will face Korean second seed Son Wan Ho next.