All England Open 2023: HS Prannoy Advances to Next Round After Overcoming Tzu Wei Wang 21-19, 22-20

India’s HS Prannoy survived some anxious moments before advancing to the second round of the All England Championships after registering a straight-game win over Chinese Taipei’s Tzu Wei Wang in the men’s singles competition on Tuesday.

The World No. 9 Indian eked out a 21-19 22-20 win over Wang in the 49-minute opening round clash to take his overall tally to 5-3 over the Taiwanese.

The 30-year-old from Kerela will meet either third-seeded Indonesian Anthony Sinisuka Ginting or Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen next.

Prannoy looked in good touch as he reeled off five points on the trot to zoom to a comfortable 11-4 lead. However, the Indian was guilty of missing the lines twice and also found the net, allowing Wang to cut down the deficit to three points at 11-14.

ALSO READ| Lakshya Sen Gets Renowned Physiotherapist to Help Him at All England Championships

Prannoy managed to pull away to 18-12 with four straight points before Wang broke the run of points with an aggressive return after a fast-paced rally.

Wang then punished Prannoy for his weak returns and moved to 16-19 with a deceptive net return. A backhand going wide and then another one going long from Prannoy brought Wang to 19-19.

Prannoy then unleashed a cross-court smash to move to game point and then sent down another straight smash to close the game.

The second game was a tightly fought battle from the word go as Wang opened up a 7-2 lead. Prannoy levelled the scores, only to miss the lines at his opponent’s forehand corner twice.

ALSO READ| German Open 2023: Lakshya Sen Exits in First Round as Indian Challenge Ends

He eventually brought down a booming smash to eke out a one point lead at the break. The two engaged in a slugfest next, moving neck and neck till 16-16.

Two venomous returns gave Prannoy a 19-17 lead but he once again squandered it as Wang made it 19-19. The Taiwanese went long next to hand over a match point to the Indian, who wasted it.

However, a determined Prannoy ensured there was no last-minute hiccups as he rejoiced once Wang went to the net.