World number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia stormed into the men's singles semi-finals of the India Open badminton tournament with a 21-14, 21-19 victory over India's H.S. Prannoy in New Delhi on Friday.
Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei in action in Birmingham, central England, on March 10, 2013. Lee stormed into the men's singles semi-finals of the India Open badminton tournament with a 21-14, 21-19 victory over India's H.S. Prannoy in New Delhi on Friday.
The Malaysian will now take on Thailand's Boonsak Ponsana, who defeated V. Gurusaidutt of India 21-12, 11-21, 21-12 in the other quarter-final.
Top-seeded Lee, who clinched the opening game comfortably, faced some anxious moments in the second when he trailed 18-12 before asserting his supremacy in the 34-minute encounter.
"He (Prannoy) was good in the second game and played some attacking shots. I made a few mistakes here and there, but in the end it was a good win," said Lee.
Prannoy, who beat Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia on Thursday, said it was a good learning experience for him.
"It's a very good exposure, playing Taufik Hidayat one day and Lee Chong Wei the next. I learnt a lot," he said.
"I may have lost the match, but it's a great learning experience for me."
The other men's singles semi-finalists were sixth-seeded Japanese Kenichi Tago and Anand Pawar of India.
The Japanese overcame India's Sai Praneeth 21-17, 19-21, 21-11, while Pawar downed compatriot Ajay Jayaram 21-6, 21-16.
Indian teenager P.V. Sindhu, seeded eighth, moved into the women's singles semi-finals with a 21-16, 21-16 victory over Japan's Yui Hashimoto.
"I had to be prepared for long rallies as she is a very strong player," Sindhu said after the 47-minute match.
"I was getting a lot of my strokes in, so I am very happy with the way I played."
Sindhu, 17, will now clash with Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon who rallied to down Arundhati Pantawane of India 14-21, 21-7, 21-16.
The other semi-final will be contested between second-seeded German Juliane Schenk and Aprilla Yuswandari of Indonesia.
Schenk defeated fifth-seeded South Korean Bae Yeon Ju 21-17, 21-13, while Yuswandari overcame the opening-game deficit to beat Thailand's Nichaon Jindapon 18-21, 21-16, 21-18.