HS Prannoy extracted the last ounce of energy from his reservoir to stun two-time defending champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in a thrilling 68-minute quarter-final match to ensure a medal for India in the World Badminton Championship here on Friday.

Prannoy will face Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the semi-final on Saturday.

In a nail-biter, Prannoy once again showed his big-match temperament as he fought back from a game down to outwit the world No. 1 Axelsen 13-21, 21-15, 21-16 in front of his home crowd at the Roal Arena.

“Oh yes! I finally have a worlds medal,” said Prannoy after ensuring his maiden medal.

Prannoy played under immense pressure with the home crowd rooting for the world No. 1 Axelsen.

“I just zoned out, the only thing under my control is me. I was actually not thinking anything else today (Friday), just thinking what to do to take the next five points,” the world No 9 said.

The 31-year-old from Kerala thus continued India’s dream run at the World Championships as the victory sealed the country’s 14th medal in the event.

PV Sindhu won five of them, including a gold in 2019, and Saina Nehwal (silver and bronze) claimed two. Kidambi Srikanth (silver), Lakshya Sen (bronze), B Sai Praneeth (bronze) and Prakash Padukone (bronze) are the other medallists in singles.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had won a bronze in the last edition, while Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa claimed a bronze back in 2011 in the women’s doubles.

Earlier, the Indian pair of Satwiksairaj and Shetty missed out on a second worlds medal after suffering a shocking straight-game loss to Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark in the quarter finals.

The world No 2 pair went down 18-12, 19-21 to the 11th-seeded combination.