India’s HS Prannoy makes winning start at All England Championships 

By PTI

BIRMINGHAM: India’s HS Prannoy survived some anxious moments before advancing to the second round of the All England Championships after registering a straight-game win over Chinese Taipei’s Tzu Wei Wang in the men’s singles competition here on Tuesday.

The World No.9 Indian eked out a 21-19 22-20 win over Wang in the 49-minute opening round clash to take his overall tally to 5-3 over the Taiwanese.

The 30-year-old from Kerela will meet either third-seeded Indonesian Anthony Sinisuka Ginting or Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen next.

Prannoy looked in good touch as he reeled off five points on the trot to zoom to a comfortable 11-4 lead.

However, the Indian was guilty of missing the lines twice and also found the net, allowing Wang to cut down the deficit to three points at 11-14.

Prannoy managed to pull away to 18-12 with four straight points before Wang broke the run of points with an aggressive return after a fast-paced rally.

Wang then punished Prannoy for his weak returns and moved to 16-19 with a deceptive net return.

A backhand going wide and then another one going long from Prannoy brought Wang to 19-19. Prannoy then unleashed a cross court smash to move to game point and then sent down another straight smash to close the game.

The second game was a tightly fought battle from the word go as Wang opened up a 7-2 lead. Prannoy levelled the scores, only to miss the lines at his opponent’s forehand corner twice. He eventually brought down a booming smash to eke out a one-point lead at the break. The two engaged in a slugfest next, moving neck and neck till 16-16.

Two venomous returns gave Prannoy a 19-17 lead but he once again squandered it as Wang made it 19-19. The Taiwanese went long next to hand over a match point to the Indian, who wasted it.

However, a determined Prannoy ensured there was no last-minute hiccups as he rejoiced once Wang went to net.

<br /> BIRMINGHAM: India’s HS Prannoy survived some anxious moments before advancing to the second round of the All England Championships after registering a straight-game win over Chinese Taipei’s Tzu Wei Wang in the men’s singles competition here on Tuesday.</p> <p>The World No.9 Indian eked out a 21-19 22-20 win over Wang in the 49-minute opening round clash to take his overall tally to 5-3 over the Taiwanese.</p> <p>The 30-year-old from Kerela will meet either third-seeded Indonesian Anthony Sinisuka Ginting or Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen next.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });</p> <p>Prannoy looked in good touch as he reeled off five points on the trot to zoom to a comfortable 11-4 lead.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.86.1 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad843 " id="quads-ad843" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.86.1 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="4374041191"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>However, the Indian was guilty of missing the lines twice and also found the net, allowing Wang to cut down the deficit to three points at 11-14.</p> <p>Prannoy managed to pull away to 18-12 with four straight points before Wang broke the run of points with an aggressive return after a fast-paced rally.</p> <p>Wang then punished Prannoy for his weak returns and moved to 16-19 with a deceptive net return.</p> <p>A backhand going wide and then another one going long from Prannoy brought Wang to 19-19. Prannoy then unleashed a cross court smash to move to game point and then sent down another straight smash to close the game.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.86.1 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad843 " id="quads-ad843" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.86.1 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="4374041191"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>The second game was a tightly fought battle from the word go as Wang opened up a 7-2 lead. Prannoy levelled the scores, only to miss the lines at his opponent’s forehand corner twice. He eventually brought down a booming smash to eke out a one-point lead at the break. The two engaged in a slugfest next, moving neck and neck till 16-16.</p> <p>Two venomous returns gave Prannoy a 19-17 lead but he once again squandered it as Wang made it 19-19. The Taiwanese went long next to hand over a match point to the Indian, who wasted it.</p> <p>However, a determined Prannoy ensured there was no last-minute hiccups as he rejoiced once Wang went to net.<br />