India’s highest-ranked shuttler HS Prannoy defeated fellow countryman Kidambi Srikanth in a Pre-Quarterfinal fixture at the Japan Open 2023. Playing at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo, Pranoy registered 19-21, 21-9 and 21-9 victory to reach the q uarterfinal of the event.
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The first game saw Prannoy take an early lead before Kidambi Srikanth levelled the scores at 5-5 as both competitors went blow for blow. After the score climbed to 16-16, Srikanth broke forward and clinched the game with a two-point margin as Prannoy failed to take a single lead after his 4-0 start.
In the second game, the World no. 10 got to work with and soon constructed a 7-1 lead before reaching 11-4 and clinching the game 21-9. Then to conclude the match, Pranoy had another dominant display as jumped up to an early 4-0 lead.
Unlike the second game, Srikanth clawed back to make the score 8-5 but the Thiruvananthapuram native breezed forward 11-5 and then clinched the game with another 21-9 win.
