Commonwealth Games gold medallist Lakshya Sen got the better of his senior compatriot HS Prannoy in straight games to progress to the men’s singles quarter finals of the Denmark Open Super 750 badminton tournament here.
Lakshya, a 2021 world championships bronze medallist, beat world No. 13 Prannoy 21-9, 21-18 in a 39-minute clash to set up a last-eight clash with Japan’s Kodai Naraoka.
The two came into the match with a 2-2 head-to-head count in four meetings but the younger Indian proved to be the better player on the day.
World No. 8 Lakshya zoomed to a 5-1 lead early on before swelling it to 11-3 at the mid-game break. He kept moving ahead as Prannoy’s game crumbled.
In the second game, Prannoy gave a better account of himself as he kept breathing down his opponent’s neck with slender leads of 5-4 and 11-10.
Things remained the same after the interval but Lakshya broke at 17-17 to shut the door on Prannoy.
On Thursday, former champion Kidambi Srikanth bowed out after losing to Loh Kean Yew of Singapore 13-21, 15-21.
