Indian badminton player HS Prannoy’s campaign at the Taipei Open Super 300 ended on Friday, as the world No 9 lost in straight games to fifth seed Ng Ka Long Angus at the Tian-Mu Arena.
This was the 12th meeting between the two players, and with the 19-21, 8-21 defeat, the head-to-head stanings stand at 6-6.
With the loss, the Indian campaign in Chinese Taipei ended as Prannoy was the only player from the contingent to reach the quarter-final stage of the contest, across all events.
Ng had the faster start between the two, taking a 3-0 lead only for Prannoy to draw level at 5-5 in the first game. The duo stayed within touching distance of each other through a majority of the first game. But with Prannoy leading at 19-18, Ng won the next three points to take the opening game.
There was a slighly similar start in the second game with Ng taking a 2-0 lead only for Prannoy to level the score. But there on, it was all about the Hong Kong player.
Ng raced to a 8-2 lead, but Prannoy did managed to close the gap to trail 12-8. However, Ng won the next nine points in a row to finish the match in 38 minutes and book a spot in the semi-final.
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