Prannoy fights back to stun Dan
Paris, October 21
HS Prannoy stunned reigning Olympics champion Lin Dan of China while Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap also crossed the opening hurdle to enter the second round of the $275,000 French Open Super Series here today.
Unseeded Prannoy rallied from a set down to beat his formidable third-seeded rival 14-21 21-11 21-17 in one hour and 11 minutes.
Top seed Nehwal tamed world No. 14 Michelle Li of Canada 21-18 21-13 in a 42-minute match, while eighth seed Kashyap saw off local shuttler Thomas Rouxel 21-11 22-20.
The women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa also advanced to the second round after defeating Thailand’s Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai 21-15 21-12.
However, it was curtains for world No. 5 Kidambi Srikanth as he went down 15-21 21-13 11-21 to Tian Houwei in a 63-minute match. This is Srikanth's fourth loss to the world No. 10 Chinese this season.
Prannoy lost the opening set tamely as the former world No. 1 gave him little chance after the two were tied at 7-7. Dan raced ahead to take the set 21-14 in quick time. But the Indian made a remarkable comeback and suddenly Dan was struggling to match Prannoy.
In the decider, Prannoy nosed ahead initially but Dan fought back to level the score at 15-15. However, Prannoy stepped on the gas and made his final flourish to take the deciding set 21-17 and win the match. — PTI
