Prannoy loses in All England quarters

Birmingham

Indian men’s singles shuttler H.S. Prannoy lost in the quarter-finals to Chinese Huang Yuxiang, who is on a giantkilling spree in the All England Open BWF World Tour Super 1000 here.

World No.16 Prannoy suffered a 20-22, 21-16, 23-21 defeat in an hour and 17 minutes to No.42 Yuxiang on Friday night.

“I tried everything which I had in my armoury last night but could not finish it off and fell short of my first ever @YonexAllEngland semifinals. Disappointed but I am happy that I am back after the break! Thanks to everyone back home for such a great support!,” Prannoy wrote on Twitter after the loss.

The 25-year-old Indian had been sidelined for nearly two months due to a wart on his foot. Yuxiang had defeated world No.2 Kidambi Srikanth of India and No.21 Rajiv Ouseph of England in the first two rounds respectively. Yuxiang, 25, will face compatriot Lin Dan in the semi-finals on Saturday after the latter ousted Malaysian icon Lee Chong Wei with a 21-16, 21-17 victory.

Lin, 34, a two-time Olympic champion and six-time All England champion, took 51 minutes to take his 28th win against the 35-year-old Wei, a three-time Olympic silver medallist who lifted the trophy here four times.

The other semi-final will be fought between South Korean Son Wan Ho and last year’s runner-up Shi Yuqi of China. Following Prannoy’s loss, 2016 Olympic silver medallist P.V. Sindhu remains India’s sole representative in the championships.

Fourth seed Sindhu will meet Japanese second seed Akane Yamaguchi for a place in the final. On Friday, Sindhu overcame reigning world champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan.