BWF World Championships Day 4 Roundup: Saina Nehwal loses in the pre-quarters and more…
A lot was expected from Saina Nehwal this time, but the Indian shuttler failed to qualify for the next round. On the other hand, HS Prannoy stunned everyone after beating in-form Lakshya Sen in the pre-quarters. In men’s doubles, Chirag Shetty/Satwiksairaj Rankireddy cruised to the quarterfinals.
Here are the highlights of Thursday’s matches:
Women’s Singles
Saina Nehwal vs Busanan Ongbamrungphan
Saina Nehwal came back with a bang after winning her first-round match at the BWF World Championships. But she couldn’t continue her good run in her next game against Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan, where she lost by 17-21, 21-16, 13-21.
Nehwal lost the first set but came back strongly after winning the next set comfortably. Though she made a couple of comebacks in the final set as well, the Thai shuttler was too good with her drop shots, smashes, and judgements.
With this, Saina Nehwal is out of the tournament. Earlier, she got a bye in the second round after her opponent pulled out due to an injury.
Men’s Singles
HS Prannoy vs Lakshay Sen
This All-India game is on everyone’s mind as Prannoy outclassed the in-form Lakshya Sen to make it to the quarterfinals of the World Championships. He won with scores of 17-21, 21-16, and 21-17, a truly outstanding performance.
Lakshya started as the favorite to win the match as the 20-year-old comfortably won the first set as well. What happened afterwards was a thing to remember as Prannoy won back-to-back sets to clinch victory. Making a comeback against a player like Sen was never an easy task, but the experienced Prannoy got the better of the younger Lakshya Sen.
The 30-year-old shuttler will now play his quarterfinal game against J.P. Zhao on Friday. It would be historic if Prannoy could win this match.
Men’s Doubles
Chirag Shetty/Satwiksairaj Rankireddy vs Jeppe Bay/Lasse Molhede
Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy advanced to the quarterfinals of the BWF World Championships
In-form boys, Chirag and Satwik made this round look so easy as the duo comfortably beat the Danish pair 21-12, 21-10 to enter the quarterfinals. From the first few shots, it looked like the Indian shuttlers were going to win this crucial match.
Both Chirag and Satwik had outstanding Commonwealth Games, which resulted in an excellent performance in the BWF World Championships as well. Now, the duo is set to compete against the home boys, Yugo Kobayashi and Takuro Hoki, on Friday. A win from here could take them through to the semifinals.
Dhruv Kapila/Arjun Madathil Ramachandran vs Loh Kean Heen/Terry Hee
The pair of Arjun and Kapila has won millions of hearts once again after their phenomenal victory over Kean and Terry of Singapore. They outclassed their opponents with scores of 18-21, 21-15, 21-16 to enter the next round. Just like Prannoy, the Indian duo made a terrific comeback after losing the first set.
They are now set to play against the Indonesian pair of Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan on Friday. As both Shetty/Rankireddy and Kapila/Arjun are moving forward, can we witness another All-India match in the upcoming days?
No participant from India is left in the competition in the following categories: women’s singles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. There are high hopes of medals from the two Indian pairs and HS Prannoy in their respective categories.