Badminton World Championships: HS Prannoy beats Kento Momota: Lakshya Sen wins, Kidambi Srikanth loses: HS Prannoy came up with a startling show to beat second seed Kento Momata in straight games. He won 21-17, 21-16 in the second round of the World Championships. He will meet Lakshya Sen in the prequarterfinals. Lakshya had defeated Luis Penalver 21-17, 21-10. Meanwhile, Kidami Srikanth was knocked out as he lost to Zhao Jun Peng 12-21 and 17-21 in straight games. The men’s doubles pair of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila stunned eight seed Kim Asturp and Anders Rasmussen to move into the next round. Follow BWF World Badminton LIVE & India at Badminton World Championship LIVE Updates with Insidesport.IN
Also Read: BWF World Championships: Lakshya Sen storms into R16; Kidambi Srikanth crashes out
The biggest result on Wednesday was Prannoy’s incredible win over Momata. Despite the support from the home crowd, Momota could not get past the Indian, who was in control of the match.
India at Badminton World Championships, RESULTS
- Pooja Dandu / Sanjana Santosh LOST to Lee So Hee / Shing Seun Chang (Korea) – 15-21, 7-21
- Ashwini Ponappa / Sikki Reddy LOST to Chen Qing Chen / Jia Yi Fan (China) 15-21, 10-21
- M Arjun / Dhruv Kapila beat Kim Astrup / Anders Rasmussen – 21-17, 21-16
- Treesa Jolly / Gayatri Gopichand lost to Tan Pearly / Tinnah Muralitharan 8-21, 17-21
- Kidambi Srikanth lost to Zhao Jun Peng – 12-21 and 17-21
- Lakshya Sen beat Luis Penalver – 21-17, 21-10
- Ashwini Bhat / Shikha Gautam lost to Kim So Yeong / Kong Hee Yong 5-21, 21-18, 13-21
- HS Prannoy beat Kento Momota 21-17, 21-16
- Satwiksairaj Rankireddy / Chirag Shetty BEAT Solis Jonathan / Anibal Marroquin 21-8, 21-10
When it came to the last match of the day, Prannoy was in great form. He looked in his zone from the first game. What stood out was his aggression, he tried to finish off points quickly. Lack of longer rallies did not help Momota’s cause too.
Prannoy came with a clear attacking plan, and the Indian executed it brilliantly. His smashes were on point, and when Momota tried to challenge Prannoy at the net, the latter had answers for everything that was thrown at him.
Coming to Lakshya Sen win, it was a bit different. His opponent was not a big name in the sport, Luis Penalver. But as usual, the Indian shuttler did not break much sweat against his fellow opponents. The first game might have been closer, but he looked in his element to win the contest with ease.
The other big win came from India’s men’s doubles pair of M Arjun and Dhruv Kapila, who beat Kim Astrup / Anders Rasmussen 21-17, 21-16.
In other results, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand lost to Tan Pearly and Tinnah Muralitharan 8-21, 17-21. In the men’s doubles, India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy / Chirag Shetty beat Solis Jonathan and Anibal Marroquin 21-8, 21-10.
Things did not look any better in the women’s doubles. Pooja Dandu and Sanjana Santosh lost to Lee So Hee and Shing Seun Chang (Korea) 15-21, 7-21. And the well-known pair of Ashwini Ponappa and Sikki Reddy also lost to Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan (China) 15-21, 10-21.
