Syed Modi International: Sindhu rallies to win three-game thriller against Katethong, reaches semis; HS Prannoy crashes out

Top-seed PV Sindhu on Friday rallied to defeat Supanida Katethong in a three-game thriller to move into the semi-finals of the ongoing Syed Modi International 2022 here in Lucknow.

At the Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium, the Indian defeated the sixth-seed left-handed shuttler by 11-21, 21-12, 21-17 in a clash that lasted for one hour and five minutes.

The Thai shuttler started the match at a good pace as she raced towards the lead of 11-6 at the first mid-game interval. Sindhu closed the gap at 9-13 but Supanida once again raised her level and closed the game at 21-11.

The top-seed Indian then showed incredible fightback in the second game as she took the marginal lead of 11-10 at the interval. After the resumption, Sindhu came firing all her cylinders and forced the decider by clinching second-set 21-12.

The sixth-seed shuttler started the third game on a good note as she took a 0-4 lead but Sindhu clawed her way back to gain the advantage of one point in the last mid-game interval. The shuttle kept changing the racquet of both players after the resumption as the score read 17-17 at one instance.

However brilliant defence by Sindhu saw her gaining four points straight to settle the tie against the Thai player who had defeated her in New Delhi last week.

Sindhu will next clash with Russi's Evgeniya Kosetskaya in the semis. The fifth-seed Kosetskaya defeated Czech Republic's Tereza Svabikova in her quarterfinal clash by 21-8, 21-14 on Court 2.

Earlier in the men's singles, HS Prannoy lost in straight games against the world number 79 Arnaud Merkle. The unseeded Frenchman defeated the fifth-seed Indian by 21-19, 21-16 in 59 minutes. A long match for two games as both players kept at each other but Prannoy's errors proved costly.

The French shuttler will now clash with India's Mithun Manjunath for a place in the final. The Indian world number 121 rallied back to defeat Russia's Sergey Sirant 11-21, 21-12, 21-18 in a titanic match that lasted for 61 minutes.

( With inputs from ANI )

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