Jakarta: Indian Badminton player HS Prannoy outshined legendary Chinese player Lin Dan in the first round of the men’s singles event of Indonesia Open here on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old thrashed his Chinese opponent 21-15, 9-21, 21-14 in a thrilling contest.
The first game started on a steady note with both the players striving hard to go up in the game.
After stumbling for first few minutes in the game, Prannoy kept his nerves intact and defeated Lin Dan 21-15 in the first game.
As soon as the second game started, it was expected that Dan would make a solid comeback and he did not disappoint. After being cautious at the beginning of the second game, he gained a strong lead of eight points making it difficult for the Indian shuttler to hit back.
In an absolutely dominating performance, Dan won the second game 21-9.
Heading into the third game, both the shuttlers started with a point each as the game advanced.
Prannoy gained the lead for the first time in the game and was holding firmly to his that.
Being an experienced fellow, Lin Dan tried to limit the Indian shuttler within a two-point lead but the game started to slip in Prannoy’s favour as he started escalating his lead.
The Chinese shuttler was now trailing the game 13-19 and the next minute Prannoy was aiming for the match point.
Displaying some brilliant badminton skills on the court, Prannoy defeated Dan 21-14 in the last game of the match.
Meanwhile, Sameer Verma also won his opening round in the tournament defeating Rasmus Gemke of Denmark 21-9, 12-21, 22-20.
B. Sai Praneeth, on the other hand, lost to his Taiwanese counterpart Wang Tzu-Wei 10-21, 13-21 in straight sets.
On a related note, Saina Nehwal will be playing her opening match of the tournament against Dinar Dyah Ayustine of Indonesia, later today.(ANI)