India was assured a berth in the US Open Super 300 badminton tournament semi-final when second seed HS Prannoy and national champion Sourabh Verma set uo a quarter-final clash in Fulerton on Thursday.

Prannoy, the 2017 US Open champion, staved off a strong challenge from Korea’s Heo Kwang Hee 21-16, 18-21, 21-16 in an hour while Verma maintained his stranglehold on up and coming Lakshya Sen to win 21-11, 19-21, 21-12 in the second round.

Sen, who last lost to Verma in the senior nationals final in Guwahati, began strong as he opened up a 10-4 lead in the opening game. But the experienced Verma first levelled scores by bagging the next six points. Though the youngster managed to go into the break with a one-point advantage, Verma won the next 11 points to pocket the opening game.

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However, Sen wasn’t willing to give up and just when Verma looked like racing to victory by claiming nine of the 10 points from 10-15 deficit to take a 19-10 lead. But the Asian junior champion found his mojo to clinch the next five points on the trot to force a decider.

In the final game, Verma made the most of his experience as he took an early lead and consolidated his position to wrap the match in 53 minutes.