Star shuttler PV Sindhu bowed out but HS Prannoy and young Priyanshu Rajawat notched up contrasting wins to set up an enticing all-India men’s singles semi-final clash in the Australia Open Super 500 badminton tournament here on Friday.
Rajawat will make his maiden appearance in the semi-final of a Super 500 tournament after knocking out compatriot Kidambi Srikanth 21-13, 21-8 in a lop-sided men’s singles quarter final.
World No. 9 Prannoy came out victorious after a slugfest with world No. 2 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia, bouncing back from an opening game reversal to notch up a gritty 16-21, 21-17, 21-14 win in a 73-minute battle.
Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu was looking to make her fourth semi-final of the season but found it tough to tame world No. 12 Beiwen Zhang of the US, losing 12-21, 17-21 in 39 minutes.
In their 10 past meetings, Sindhu had won six times against her opponent. The last time she faced Zhang, the Indian had beaten her in straight games in the 2020 All England Championship.
But Sindhu just couldn’t get going on Friday against the 33-year-old China-born American, who showed better control to come up trumps.
Her loss to Zhang would come as a big disappointment ahead of the World Championships later this month.