NEW DELHI: World No.1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia stormed into the men’s singles semifinals of the India Open badminton tournament with a 21-14, 21-19 victory over India’s H.S. Prannoy in New Delhi yesterday.
The Malaysian will now take on Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana, who defeated V. Gurusaidutt of India 21-12, 11-21, 21-12 in the other quarterfinal.
Top-seeded Lee, who clinched the opening game comfortably, faced some anxious moments in the second when he trailed 18-12 before asserting his supremacy in the 34-minute encounter.
“He (Prannoy) was good in the second game and played some attacking shots. I made a few mistakes here and there, but in the end it was a good win,” said Lee.
Prannoy, who beat Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia on Thursday, said it was a good learning experience for him.
“It’s a very good exposure, playing Taufik Hidayat one day and Lee Chong Wei the next. I learned a lot,” he said.
“I may have lost the match, but it’s a great learning experience for me.” The other men’s singles semifinalists were sixth-seeded Japanese Kenichi Tago and Anand Pawar of India.
The Japanese overcame India’s Sai Praneeth 21-17, 19-21, 21-11, while Pawar downed compatriot Ajay Jayaram 21-6, 21-16.
Indian teenager P.V. Sindhu, seeded eighth, moved into the women’s singles semi-finals with a 21-16, 21-16 victory over Japan’s Yui Hashimoto.
“I had to be prepared for long rallies as she is a very strong player,” Sindhu said after the 47-minute match.
“I was getting a lot of my strokes in, so I am very happy with the way I played.” Sindhu, 17, will now clash with Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon who rallied to down Arundhati Pantawane of India 14-21, 21-7, 21-16.
The other semi-final will be contested between second-seeded German Juliane Schenk and Aprilla Yuswandari of Indonesia.
Schenk defeated fifth-seeded South Korean Bae Yeon Ju 21-17, 21-13, while Yuswandari overcame the opening-game deficit to beat Thailand’s Nichaon Jindapon 18-21, 21-16, 21-18.
