Australia Open: PV Sindhu ousted, Priyanshu Rajawat vs HS Prannoy in semifinals

PTI

Sydney, August 4

Star shuttler PV Sindhu bowed out but HS Prannoy and young Priyanshu Rajawat notched up contrasting wins to set up an enticing all-Indian men’s singles semifinal clash in the Australian Open Super 500 here today.

Orleans Masters champion Rajawat will make his maiden appearance in a semifinal of a Super 500 tournament after knocking out compatriot Kidambi Srikanth 21-13 21-8 in a lopsided men’s singles quarterfinal.

World No. 9 Prannoy was the last man standing after a slugfest with world No. 2 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia, bouncing back from an opening game reversal to notch up a gritty 16-21 21-17 21-14 win in a 73-minute battle.

Prannoy will go into the semifinal with a 1-0 advantage against world No. 31 Rajawat, having beaten him at the Syed Modi International in 2022.

Two-time Olympics medallist Sindhu, who has slipped to world No. 17 following a series of early exits, was looking to make her fourth semifinal of the season but couldn’t tame world No. 12 American Beiwen Zhang as she lost 12-21 17-21 in 39 minutes.

In their past 10 meetings, Sindhu had won six times against her opponent. The last time she faced Zhang, the Indian had beaten her in straight games in the 2020 All England Championship.

But Sindhu just couldn’t get going today against the 33-year-old, who showed better control to come up trumps.

Rajawat wins battle of ages

In a battle of generations, Rajawat gave ample display of his talent as he slowly grabbed a 11-6 lead at the interval against Srikanth.

On resumption, the former world No. 1 narrowed down the lead to 11-13 after winning five of the next seven points, but Rajawat broke off with a four-point burst to lead 19-13 won the first game.

The young Indian was faster and more precise in his returns and maintained the momentum to zoom to an 11-3 lead after the change of sides. He kept a hold on the match to eventually close it out without much ado.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.

#Australia #HS Prannoy #PV Sindhu