In-form HS Prannoy maintained his fine form to beat compatriot Lakshya Sen in a thrilling encounter at the Malaysia Open 2023 Super 1000 tournament in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.
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Prannoy, who was ranked world number eight last year, came back from a game down to beat 10th-ranked Lakshya Sen 22. 24, 21. 12, 21. 18. The 30-year-old Prannoy from Kerala will next face either Indonesia's Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo or Danish veteran Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus. Prannoy and Sen have clashed five times in the last year in which Sen has won 3 ahead of 2.
In this match, both started on a brisk note and Prannoy started with a two-point lead. Sen, however, soon made a comeback to score soon, drew parity at 13-13. Following a few disputable line calls, the duo was locked at 19-19 at one stage. Sen then earned a game point but squandered it. Soon Prannoy grabbed two game points at 21-20 and 22-21 but he too missed it as Sen eventually managed to nose ahead after grabbing another game point.
In the second game, Prannoy lead the match by 4-1 when Sen made several unforced errors. He showed aggression but Pranay was way ahead of him. Prannoy won the game with a nine-point lead. In the deciding game, Sen scored 8. Made a lead of 4 but Prannoy soon came back with 9-9. Since then he did not give Sen a chance to return.
In the second match for the Indian shuttlers on day 2, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty got the better of the Korean duo 21-16, 21-13 in the 1st round of the Malaysia Open 2023.