Hangzhou: Indian men's singles badminton ace HS Prannoy pulled off a thriller against Malaysia Lee Zii Jia in the quarterfinals at the Asian Games 2023 and assured India a medal here on Thursday.
The World No.7, won the match 21-16, 21-23, 22-20 to secure a semifinal berth.
Prannoy notched up the first game, and had two points lead in the second, but former World No.2 Lee came back on the track to level the game.
In the third game, Lee turned the tables with two match points but Prannoy, this time, scored four points on the trot to win the quarterfinal.
This is Prannoy's first Asian Games singles medal.
India also will have their second men's singles badminton medallist, 41 years after the first - Syed Modi in 1982. He will face the winner between Indonesia’s Anthony Ginting and China’s Li Shi Feng in the semifinal on Friday.
Earlier, Indian shuttler PV Sindhu's campaign for a medal ended after she was defeated by China's He Bingjiao 16-21, 12-21 in the quarterfinals of the women's singles.
Asmita Chaliha, the other Indian woman in Hangzhou, was knocked out in the round of 32, ending India's quest for a medal in the badminton women’s events at this Asiad.
Before this match, Sindhu had beaten He Bingjiao in four of their last five matches including winning a bronze at the Tokyo Olympics against her.
But today, the Chinese shuttler was on top by taking an early lead at 9-5 with her magnificent net play, forcing Sindhu to commit errors on her backhand returns.
Sindhu picked up the tempo by garnering three points on the trot and bringing the scores at 16-18, but was too late as the Chinese shuttler sealed the first game 21-16.
In the second game, He Bingjiao raced ahead 5-1, but Sindhu drew level at 8-8. Just when it looked Sindhu would sneak ahead, the Chinese stepped up the gas and won 13 points to Indian player's four to take the second game 21-12. It lasted 47 minutes.
Sindhu won a silver medal in the women’s singles at Jakarta 2018, which remains India’s joint-best result at the Asian Games. India are yet to pick up a badminton gold medal at the continental event. (UNI)
