China Masters: HS Prannoy loses to Japan's Kodai Naraoka to be knocked out in round of 16 stage

India ace shuttler HS Prannoy has been kocked out of the ongoing China Masters 2023 after losing to Japan’s Kodai Naraoka in the round of 16 stage. Naraoka beat Prannoy in straight games to book his spot in the quarter-finals.

The Japanese shuttler beat Prannoy 21-18, 21-16 to knock his Indian opponent out of the China Masters. Prannoy struggle to make his shots count in the last-16 clash and made several errors which led to his defeat.

It became clear early in the first set that Prannoy was struggling to position his shots, giving Naraoka an early two-point lead after hitting a shot wide. Several errors later, Naraoka comfortably led 8-3.

At the mid-game break, an off-form Prannoy was trailing 4-11 and struggled to force a comeback. Naraoka capitalized on Prannoy's lack of form, securing the first set with a definitive 21-9. Despite more determination on display in the second game from the Indian player, and even briefly taking



the lead, Kodai's consistency saw him move up 11-10 at the halfway mark.

After the break, Prannoy continued to flounder, making further errors and allowing Naraoka to extend his lead to 16-13. Ultimately, Prannoy lost the second set 21-14, thus bowing out of the tournament.

In contrast, India's badminton duo, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, surged into the semi-final. They faced off against Indonesian pair Daniel Marthin and Leo Rolly Carnando in the quarter-finals and came out on top with a straight games win.

Following an evenly contested start which saw scores level at 14-14, the Indian pair shifted gears, ultimately securing the first set 21-15. The second set saw Rankireddy and Shetty continue their confident stride, taking an early lead which they held onto clinch a 21-16 victory.

Now, they look forward to challenging Chinese pair He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu in the intense semi-final clash.