Taipei Open: India’s campaign ends with Prannoy’s exit

Taipei : India’s campaign at the Taipei Open 2023 came to an end on Friday after HS Prannoy bowed out of the tournament, suffering a loss in the men’s singles quarter-finals, here.

Prannoy, ninth in the world badminton rankings, lost 19-21, 8-21 to Hong Kong’s world No. 16 Ng Ka Long Angus in the quarters.

Playing at the Tian-Mu Arena, the third-seeded Prannoy found his footing quickly and raced to a 5-2 lead. However, Ng Ka Long Angus rallied to make it 5-all. As the match progressed, both shuttlers battled to gain the upper hand. With the scores tied at 19-all, Ng Ka Long Angus won two consecutive points to take the lead.

In the second game, Prannoy trailed 8-2 going into the mid-game break. Ng Ka Long Angus remained in control as the Indian shuttler failed to match his opponent’s intensity. The Hong Kong shuttler wrapped up the match in 38 minutes.

This was Prannoy’s sixth loss against Ng Ka Long Angus in 12 meetings. In their last meeting, Prannoy beat Ng Ka Long Angus 21-18, 21-16 on the way to the semi-finals of the Indonesian Open 2023.

Earlier, Tanya Hemanth lost to world No. 4 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics silver medallist Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in the women’s singles pre-quarterfinals on Thursday to end India’s run in the category.

The Indian shuttlers will be in action next at the Canada Open. The BWF Super 500 tournament will be held in Calgary from July 4 to 9.