Asian Games 2023 Badminton semifinals Highlights: Satwik-Chirag reach gold match, HS Prannoy settles for bronze

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Indian men’s singles badminton star HS Prannoy engaged in a thrilling quarter-final battle against Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia at the Asian Games 2023. In an intense contest, world No. 7 HS Prannoy secured a hard-fought victory with scores of 21-16, 21-23, 22-20, earning himself a spot in the semifinals and ensuring a well-deserved medal in Hangzhou.

Prannoy clinched the first game and held two match points in the second. However, former world No. 2 Lee Zii Jia staged a remarkable comeback to level the game. In the decisive third game, the Malaysian shuttler also had two match points, but HS Prannoy mounted a comeback by scoring four consecutive points to seal the quarter-final win.

This achievement marks HS Prannoy’s first Asian Games singles medal. Remarkably, India will now have their second men’s singles badminton medallist at the Asian Games, 41 years after Syed Modi’s accomplishment in 1982.

The Indian men’s doubles badminton duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty displayed their dominance by swiftly advancing into the semi-finals. They secured a commanding victory with scores of 21-7 and 21-9 in just 30 minutes against Singapore’s Nge Joo Jie and Prajogo Johann.

Satwik and Chirag’s skill, power, and precision on the court made it a smooth win against the Singaporean pair in both games. The only men’s doubles medal from the event was earned by the pair of Leroy D’sa and Pradeep Gandhe in the year 1982.