HS Prannoy displayed steely nerves as he defeated former champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in three games to go to the World Championships quarterfinals for the third time in a row on Thursday. Prannoy, the ninth-ranked player in the world, defeated Loh, the seventh-seeded player, at the Royal Arena by a score of 21-18, 15-21, and 21-19.
The pair overcame a downturn in the middle of the match to defeat Indonesia’s Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin, who were placed 10th, 21-15 19-21 21-9 in the match that took place in the round of 16.
To tie the score at 8-8, the Indian jumbled up his strokes. But Loh made sure that they led by three points at the break. Prannoy was able to pull level at 13-13 thanks to a cunning block at the net and a fortunate net chord.
However, Loh quickly increased his lead to 19-14 with a run of points, and after Prannoy missed twice, he forced a shootout. In the third game, Prannoy turned up the heat right away, scoring a string of victories to go 4-0 ahead.
The Singaporean proved too unpredictable, falling behind by 3–9. The Indian quickly seized a seven-point lead at halftime. After play resumed, Loh intensified his attack and delivered a series of beautiful smashes to score five straight points.
Prior to sending one looping at the backline to increase the score to 14-10, Prannoy unleashed two thunderous smashes. The Singaporean then produced a quick, aggressive play to grab the lead 15-14, orchestrating a brilliant comeback.
To make it 16-16, a composed Prannoy, though, delivered a perfect smash. He then attempted a flick serve, which his opponent promptly threw into the net.
As Prannoy led 19-17, Loh again struggled at the net. Prannoy’s forehand cross-court and excellent net block let the Singaporean to tie the score at 19 all.
Chirag was excellent at intercepting passes as he slid about the court, punishing any shaky returns from their adversaries. The Indian team got off to a poor start, but Chirag and Satwik quickly came to the fore, unleashing cross-court returns.
Satwik quickly released his powerful smash to take a three-point lead into the break. The Indians immediately increased their advantage to 15-10 despite the Indonesians’ best efforts to rally with a few points of their own.
Again leading 11-8 at halftime was the Indians. After the interval, the game’s momentum changed as Marthin and Carnando scored six straight points to grab the lead, with the former displaying some strong intercepting.
When the Indonesians began extending their rallies, the score was soon 18-18. Two champions were ultimately delivered by the Indonesians, who roared back into the competition.
After being tied 4-4 at one point in the decisive game, the Indians played a commanding game to take a five-point lead into halftime. After the game resumed, the Indians easily won because the Indonesians made too many mistakes.
