Jakarta: H.S. Prannoy continued his giant-killing spree to stun World and Olympic champion Chen Long of China and enter the semifinals of the Indonesia Super Series Premier along with Kidambi Srikanth, here on Friday.
A day after he dispatched three-time Olympic silver medallist and world No.1 Lee Chong Wei, Prannoy showed his mettle once again as he saw off eighth seed Chen Long 21-18, 16-21, 21-19 in an energy-sapping men’s singles match that lasted an hour and 15 minutes. “It was physically very tough today. It was quite tiring towards the end, especially in the last few points I was trying to focus hard,” Prannoy said.
Compatriot Srikanth, who was playing on another court, also reached the last four round with a 21-15, 21-14 win over Chinese Taipei’s Tzu Wei Wang. Talking about Chen, Prannoy said: “I hate to play him. He is a sort of player who never gets tired and he has this slow sort of game.”
“He takes everything and he has this giant structure but is still very balanced, so making him push is difficult. Even if you are playing good shots it seems you are not doing enough against him. To crack him is tough,” Prannoy added.
