World Championships bronze medallist Lakshya Sen continued his rich vein of form as he progressed to the men's singles semifinals of the German Open Super 300 tournament with a straight-game win over fellow Indian HS Prannoy here on Friday (March 11).
The 20-year-old Sen, who had claimed his maiden Super 500 title at the India Open in January, saw off former top 10 player Prannoy 21-15, 21-16 in 39 minutes. The world number 14 had defeated Prannoy, currently ranked 24th, at the quarterfinals of India Open as well.
Sen will now face the winner of the other quarterfinal match between Olympic champion and top seed Viktor Axelsen and India's Kidambi Srikanth on Saturday.
On Thursday, Sen had notched up a stunning 21-7, 21-9 win over fourth seeded Indonesian Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in a second-round match.
Prannoy made a positive start, opening up a 4-0 lead early on but Sen caught up with him at 10-10 and zoomed ahead after the interval to take a 1-0 lead in the tie.
The second game was a tight affair initially as the duo moved neck and neck with Sen managing a slender 11-10 lead at the break. But, just like in the first game, Sen produced a five-point burst to eventually seal the contest comfortably.
Earlier on Thursday, World championships silver winner Kidambi Srikanth progressed to the men's singles quarterfinals but two-time Olympic medallist P V Sindhu and London bronze medallist Saina Nehwal bowed out following losses at the German Open.
Srikanth, a former world no 1 and seeded eighth here, prevailed 21-16, 21-23, 21-18 over China's Lu Guang Zu in a second round match.
The seventh seeded Sindhu, a 2019 World Champion, however, suffered a shock 14-21, 21-15, 14-21 loss to China's Zhang Yi Man in 55 minutes in the women's singles second round.
Saina, who has been struggling with fitness issues, also proved no match against eighth seeded Thai Ratchanok Intanon, going down 10-21 15-21 in a lop-sided contest. Srikanth, who was forced out of the India Open after testing positive for COVID-19, dished out a gritty performance to outlast his world no 27 opponent in a thrilling match that lasted an hour and seven minutes.
