Paris 2024 Olympics: HS Prannoy Advances To Men's Singles Pre-quarterfinal, To Face Lakshya Sen

Star shuttler HS Prannoy registered an exceptional victory over the Le Duc Phat of Vietnam in his final group stage match and secured his place in the pre-quarterfinal encounter of the men's singles badminton event of the Paris 2024 Olympics. Prannoy will take on fellow Indian Lakshya Sen to qualify for the quarterfinals.

Paris (France):India's star shuttler HS Prannoy advanced to the pre-quarterfinal stage and will compete with his compatriot Lakshya Sen in the men’s singles event following his emphatic win over Vietnam’s Le Duc Phat in the final group game of the badminton event at the Paris Olympics 2024 here on Wednesday.

Lakshya Sen, who played one extra match than other participants, qualified for the round of 16 clash following his exceptional victory over the world number four Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in two straight sets in his last group stage game.

India's number-one-ranked shuttler went one set down in the clash and then made a remarkable comeback in the match to seal his spot in the knockout stage. He won 16-21, 21-11, 21-12 against Vietnam Shuttler on Wednesday,

Prannoy didn’t get the start which he must have been looking for as she made a few unforced errors that led to his downfall in the first set. The Indian shuttler was leading 8-6 but then conceded a couple of points that brought the score to a level and from there the game went completely against him. Phat stayed vigilant in the rallies and showed a remarkable game sense as he denied Prannoy any opportunity to make a comeback and secured the set with 16-21.

But, once the 32-year-old's engine got ready, there was no stopping for the Indian shuttler. He shifted the dynamics of the fixture with a comeback to restore the parity in the game. The 13-ranked shuttler took an early lead and capitalised on it, extending it to 5-1 and gradually extending it as the game went on. Prannoy nailed the final pin, sealing the second set by 21-11 and took the encounter into the decider set.

Phat’s meek surrender in the third and final set allowed Prannoy to secure his berth in the round of 16 clash where he will face fellow India. Prannoy showed his class and raced to a 21-12 win in a match that stretched for more than an hour.

Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy’s pre-quarterfinal clash is scheduled for 5:40 PM IST on Thursday.

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