India's top ranked singles player HS Prannoy went down to higher-ranked Kodai Naraoka of Japan 19-21, 13-21 as none among the country's shuttlers failed to progress beyond the quarterfinals of the Australian Open Super 500 event on Friday. (More Sports News)
🃏The world No. 10 Prannoy was the latest to be eliminated on a day when his singles compatriot Sameer Verma, mixed doubles pair of Sikki Reddy and B Sumeeth Reddy along with Aakarshi Kashyap in women's singles also drew blank.
🍰Prannoy made a rally from being 10-16 down to level the proceedings at 18-all before taking a one-point lead but Naraoka held his nerves to seal the first game.
🅘Naraoka was far superior in the second game as he suddenly upped the ante at 5-5 without giving Prannoy any scope of a comeback to seal the match in little more than an hour.
ꦉFresh from his upset victory over former world No. 1 Loh Kean Yew, Verma was no match for his world No. 17 opponent Chinese Taipei opponent Lin Chun-Yi who cruised to a 21-12, 21-13 win in 38 minutes.
🎃In the mixed doubles, eighth seeded husband-wife duo of Summeth and Sikki also faced a tough opposition in top seeded pair of Jian Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin, who took just about half an hour's time to secure an easy 21-12 21-14 victory.
💯Eighth seed Aakarshi went down to Chinese Taipei's Yu Po Pai 21-17 21-12 in a 42-minute women's singles contest.
