On a day when most of the Indians in the fray fell by the way side, Prannoy, ninth in the world badminton rankings, overpowered Sugiarto in straight games, in the pre-quarterfinals of the BWF Super 300 tournament.

Meanwhile it was the end of the campaign for the Parupalli Kashyap as the 36-year-old Indian lost 21-16, 21-17 to Su Li Yang of Chinese Taipei in the round of 16.

India’s challenge in the women’s singles event also ended after world No. 57 Tanya Hemanth lost 21-11, 21-6 to world No. 4 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics silver medallist Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in the pre-quarterfinals.

Mixed doubles pair of Rohan Kapoor and N Sikki Reddy also lost 21-13, 21-18 against Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Lin Xiao Min of Chinese Taipei in the second round.

Earlier playing at the Tian-Mu Arena, Prannoy started strong and raced to a 15-5 lead in the opening game. He kept firm control of the contest and won the first game with ease.

The second game saw Prannoy trail Sugiarto 10-3 early on. However, the Indian bounced back to draw level. With the scores tied at 15-all, Prannoy upped his game and beat his rival in 36 minutes. The 30-year-old Indian will play Hong Kong’s Ng Ka Long Angus for a place in the semi-finals.

On the other hand, Parupalli Kashyap and Su Li Yang went toe-to-toe early on but the home favourite claimed seven consecutive points to lead 14-8 and then dominated to win the opening game.

The second game, too, was a closely-fought affair early on. However, as the game progressed, Kashyap failed to match Su Li Yang’s intensity and lost
the 42-minute-long affair.