Prannoy gets lucky, Sindhu falls tamely to Tunjung

Kuala Lumpur, May 27

Star Indian shuttler HS Prannoy entered the men’s singles final of the Malaysia Masters after his opponent, Christian Adinata of Indonesia, conceded the semifinals match following a nasty knee injury here today.

World No. 9 Prannoy was leading 19-17 when Adinata lost his footing while landing after a return and his left knee buckled, leaving the Indonesian shuttler grimacing in pain.

The 21-year-old Adinata, a 2019 World Junior Championships winner, was quickly attended to by Prannoy and the Indonesian’s coach before being eventually wheeled out of the court.

It will be Prannoy’s first final of the season and second since the runners-up finish at the Swiss Open last year.

Double Olympics medallist PV Sindhu, however, couldn’t make it to the women’s singles final after suffering a 14-21 17-21 loss to Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung.

It was a second successive loss for Sindhu to Tunjung following seven wins against the tricky world No. 9 Indonesian.

A two-time former winner, Sindhu couldn’t play her aggressive game as Tunjung kept control of the rallies with her solid defence and produced tricky strokes to finish points. The Indian failed to match the intensity of Tunjung and succumbed to a defeat in 40 minutes. — Agencies