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| Image: Twitter |
HS Prannoy sealed a medal for India at the World Badminton Championships by defeating two-time defending champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in a 68-minute quarter-final match. Prannoy defeated world number one Axelson 13-21, 21-15, 21-16 in this exciting encounter. After securing his first medal, he said, 'Yes. Finally, I will now have a World Championship medal.
India's 14th medal assured
Axelsen was playing in front of his home crowd, so there was a lot of pressure on Prannoy. He said, 'I thought I could at least control myself. Was not thinking of anything other than this. All I could think about was how to get the next five points.' The 31-year-old from Kerala ensured India's 14th medal at the World Championships. He has won the Malaysia Masters Super 500 tournament and was runner-up in the Australian Open Super 500 this season.
Pranoy's win-loss record against Axelsen was 2-7
Before this match, Prannoy's win-loss record against Axelsen was 2-7. Both players looked nervous at the start but Axelsson took a 5-2 lead. Pranoy's shot went into the net twice and the lead increased to 9-2. Axelson then took a 16-11 lead with a crosscourt smash. He quickly took the next point to win the first game.
Prannoy changed the pace in the second game
In the second game, Pranoy changed the pace. His defense was also good but he was unable to finish which gave Axelsson the lead. Prannoy made a quick comeback to make the score 7-7. Prannoy took advantage of some bad returns from Axelson. After the break, he showed a great game and took an 18-11 lead. Axelsen's shot went into the net and here Prannoy sealed the game with 6 game points. Even in the deciding game, the match was tied early on but Prannoy took an 11-6 lead into the break after Axelsson's poor return. He maintained his lead even after the break and hit some brilliant shots to win this hard-fought match.
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