New Delhi: Indian shuttler HS Prannoy's campaign in the Indian Open has come to an end in the semi-final with a defeat against World No. 2 Shi Yu Qi. Prannoy started the game with a lot of backing from the home crowd as a lot of spectators were seen cheering for him. He was leading 6-3 at the start of the game and was looking to extend his lead further. However, his opponent bounced back in the set by grabbing five points in a row while Prannoy managed to get just a point in the next few minutes. The scoreline was now 8-7 in favour of the Chinese shuttler.
Prannoy then kept fighting to make his way back into the set, but Shi was still one point ahead when the first mid-interval break of the match was taken. It was a neck-to-neck contest till 15-14, but the second-ranked player in the world raced ahead with four points in a row. The set was pocketed by 21-15 by the Chinese eventually.
Prannoy was looking down and out in the second set and he was no match to the challenge presented by his rival. He had no answers to the solid strokeplay of the opponent and the set went in the opponent's favour by 21-5.
India's campaign in the singles event thus ended with Prannoy's defeat and he will be now keen to come up with a stellar performance in the upcoming tournament.
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