Vinayak Padmadeo

New Delhi, January 18

India won, India lost. Court 1 and 2 had the backing of the crowd — while the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty was working its magic against Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han of Chinese Taipei, HS Prannoy and Priyanshu Rajawat were jousting for a place in the singles quarterfinals of the India Open Super 750 tournament.

As Satwiksairaj and Chirag won 21-14 21-15 against their world No. 25 opponents, Prannoy beat an injured Priyanshu 20-22 21-14 21-14.

The singles match between seasoned pro Prannoy and his young compatriot started with an intense duel. However, it petered out after Priyanshu twisted his ankle midway in the second game.

In the opening game, it was the young upstart that mixed up his strokes, with powerful jump smashes and drop shots to make it harder for Prannoy, who led 11-10 at the break. Even as Prannoy thought he had the game — leading 17-14 and 18-16 — Priyanshu had his measure and nosed ahead to two game points that came after two drop shots followed by a smash.

While Prannoy hit back with two points to go level, it was Priyanshu who won the opening game with a down-the-line drop shot and a mid-court smash. But the second game became easier for Prannoy as he went 7-0 up, with errors starting to creep in Priyanshu’s game. While he tried to make a match out of it, the ankle injury midway thwarted his movement on the court. Prannoy wrapped up the game despite committing several errors himself.

The pattern of the play was the same in the deciding game, where Prannoy racked up a big lead of 10-1. But the game was disrupted twice as Prannoy took medical breaks for a finger injury. He had jarred his finger while trying to return a smash. It had to be taped. The match lasted one hour and 16 minutes as Prannoy sealed the win with a comfortable margin.

“It was unfortunate for Priyanshu as he twisted his ankle. In the first game I had my chances leading 18-16 but he played well,” Prannoy said. “I was ready to play the second and third games as I had to stretch it long. Unfortunate that he couldn’t play but he was fighting till the end,” he added.

“It is always tough. To play at the 750 level and you are getting a draw where three Indians are drawn together. It is a little irritating to be honest but that’s how the draw goes sometimes. The preparations are there but if you are playing somebody that knows your game very well, it is how well you execute your shots during core points especially after 15-15 is the key,” he added.

However, even as the drama was being played out on Court 2, it was very evident that the crowd was focusing on Satwiksairaj and Chirag, who are currently ranked No. 2 in the world. Chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and ‘Vande Matram’ reverberated every time the Indian duo won a point. As a measure of their control, the Indian duo won 42 of the 71 rallies in the game to win in straight games.

Big guns exit

It was a day of upsets as many known stars, including reigning world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn, were beaten in the Round of 16. The Thai player lost 21-16 20-22 21-23 against Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu. Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi, a two-time women’s world champion, exited as well, losing 11-21 19-21 against Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan. Also, All England champion Li Shi Feng lost 21-14 13-21 21-9 against unseeded Japanese Koki Watanabe.