Prannoy’s fight ends in agony in Indonesia Open

TIL Desk Sports/ Giant-killer H S Prannoy played his heart out but eventually ran out of steam against Japanese Kazumasa Sakai to go down narrowly in the semifinals of the Indonesia Super Series Premier badminton tournament here today.

The World No. 25, who had shocked Olympic silver- medallist Lee Chong Wei and gold-medallist Chen Long in the last two days, got to the match point five times but he could not convert to eventually go down 21-17, 26-28, 18-21 in a 77 -minute men’s singles match.

Prannoy, who had lost to the same opponent during the 2013 edition, mostly matched Sakai stroke for stroke but failed to complete the rallies. The Japanese, a bundle of energy, showed better control over the shuttle to emerge victorious.

In the first game, Prannoy and Sakai were locked 2-2 early on but the Indian soon moved ahead to first make it 4-2 before entering the break with a healthy 11-6 lead. He moved to a 19-15 lead and soon grabbed the game point.