Semi-finals report: Shuttlers Parupalli Kashyap and HS Prannoy made it an all-Indian men’s singles final, while the men’s doubles pair of Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy lost in the semi-finals of the US Open Grand Prix Gold. [caption id=“attachment_3848093” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]
HS Prannoy and Parupalli Kashyap are slated to face each other on Sunday. AFP[/caption] Second seeded Prannoy on Friday got the better of Vietnamese 15th seed Tien Minh Nguyen 21-14, 21-19 in 40 minutes in the second semi-final. In the other semi-final, World No 59 Kashyap overcame South Korea’s Kwang Hee Heo 15-21, 21-15, 21-16 in an hour and six minutes. In the international circuit, Kashyap and World No 23 Prannoy have only met twice, with each winning a game. The first game between them took place in 2010 Indian Grand Prix where Kashyap won. In the next one, at German Open 2014, Prannoy triumphed. Their compatriots Manu-Sumeeth wasted their opportunity to join them in Sunday’s play. The third seeded Indian men’s doubles pair went down fighting against Chinese Taipei’s top-seeded combine of Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han. The Chinese Taipei pair won the battle 21-12, 12-21, 22-20 in 54 minutes. Lu-Yang will meet South Koreans Seung Jae Seo and Kim Ha Na in the final on Sunday. Seung-Kim eased past Japanese Kohei Gondo and Wakana Nagahara 21-13, 21-13 in 32 minutes. The women’s singles title will be decided between Canadian sixth seed Michelle Li and Japanese third seed Aya Ohori. With inputs from IANS
US Open GPG Highlights, badminton scores and results: HS Prannoy beats P Kashyap to claim maiden title
Catch the live scores and updates of the men’s singles final between HS Prannoy and Parupalli Kashyap at the US Open Grand Prix Gold,
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HS Prannoy beats Parupalli Kashyap: 21-15, 22-20, 21-12!
A very calm and composed show by Prannoy there to seal his third Grand Prix Gold and maiden US Open title against an intelligent player like Kashyap. The 25-year-old scripted a brilliant comeback in the first game and despite losing the second narrowly, he managed to wrap up things quickly in the decider. Court coverage and a variation of strokes made the difference at the end.
9-5! Prannoy has maintained his four-point lead in the third game against Kashyap. Great footwork there.
6-9! Such skill there from Kashyap as he pulls one back. What a backhand shot!
Parupalli Kashyap makes it 1-1, wins second game 22-20
A much better performance from the former Commonwealth Games gold medallist Kashyap who cleverly executed a mix of backhand and wrist strokes from the basepoint. Prannoy did not give up but was left confused at times.
Both the shuttlers are doing everything they can to win this one. Prannoy needs two points to seal the match, while Kashyap needs the same number of points to send the match into the deciding game!
18-18!
Great rally and a great jump smash by Prannoy to level the scores as we approach the end of the second game.
WHAT A RALLY!
This time, Prannoy plays a smart cross court drop to take a point. Kashyap, on the other hand, tries to play long rallies to put Prannoy under pressure.
Kashyap still leads by a point 15-14
14-12!
Net error haunts Kashyap as he loses two points on the trot. Make it 15-12, Kashyap executes a perfect jump smash! Prannoy is on his knees.
Surprisingly, the second game has witnessed more attacking drives from Kashyap than Prannoy. Variation!
11-8!
For the second time in this match, Kashyap has taken a healthy lead at the mid-game interval. However, the question here is can he maintain the lead or will Prannoy claw back?
HS Prannoy wins first game: 21-15
Prannoy does what he does best. From being 4-8 down, he picked his spot perfectly and never looked back since then. Excellent court coverage after the mid-game interval by Prannoy. Meanwhile, after taking a healthy lead, Kashyap succumbed to Prannoy’s aggressive strokes from the forecourt.
The second game gets underway!
13-12!
Prannoy strikes out of nowhere! From being down at 4-8, the Kerala-born shuttler pips Kashyap to take a slender lead.