English
Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap and giant killer H S Prannoy entered the semifinals of men’s singles completion of the US Open Grand Prix Gold in the United States on Saturday. This is a comeback tournament for talented Kashyap, who has recently recovered from series injuries. Hence, this is a preparatory camp for him before the Super Series events start in September. This is his first semi final qualification at Grand Prix Gold event in seven months after defeating compatriot Sameer Verma 21-13 21-16 in 40 minutes to set up a clash with South Korea’s Kwang Hee Heo.
Kashyap last played a semifinal at the Korea Open in December. For Talented HS Prannoy, it was the second semifinal appearance of the season after his semifinal finish at the Indonesian Open Super Series Premier Badminton title last month.
In a tightly fought quarter-final, Prannoy saw off Japan’s Kanta Tsuneyama 10 -21 21-15 21-18 in a men’s singles match that lasted exactly an hour at the Anaheim Convention Centre Arena. In the semifinal, Prannoy will take on 15th seed Tien Minh Nguyen of Vietnam, who had beaten the Indian at the 2012 Badminton Asia Championships in their only meeting so far.
In the men’s doubles, Manu and Sumeeth defeated Japan’s Hiroki Okamura and Masayuki Onodera 21-18 22-20 in men’s doubles. The duo, who had played at the Rio Olympics, will face top seeds Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han of Chinese Taipei.
The US Open Grand Prix Gold is US$120,000 worth tournament. Many top Indian players like Srikanth Kidambi, Sai Praneeth, PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal skipped this Grand Prix Gold to keep themselves fresh for the Korea Open Super Series Premier (12-17) and Japan Open Super series (19-24) in September.
For breaking news and live news updates, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Read more on Latest Sports News on India.com.
