Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Sept 2: India’s tournament at the Japan Open came to an end on Friday as HS Prannoy lost a hard-fought match to Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen, who won the bronze medal at the world championships. The 30-year-old Indian gave it everything he had and saved three match points, but in the end Chou prevailed 21-17 15-21 22-20 in a thrilling battle that lasted one hour and 20 minutes.
Prannoy, one of the most reliable Indian players on the circuit this season, battled back admirably from an initial game loss and held his opponent on the ropes right up until the final point, but Chou’s tenacity ultimately won him the match at the Super 750 competition.
Prannoy and Chou engaged in an attrition war before the match and Prannoy won the first game 12-8 thanks to his twin victories over Chou in their previous two meetings.
When Prannoy moved to the net, Chou turned the tables at 15–14. The Indian stumbled with his net shot twice, which energised the Taiwanese as he increased his lead to two points.
Prannoy sent a forehand into the net after making another stiff return on his rival’s backhand, giving Chou three opportunity to score a game-winning point. Chou earned the victory with a crisp cross court return.
Following the switch of sides, Chou once more took a slim 5-4 lead before a fortunate net chord levelled things out. Prannoy’s mistakes mounted as he fell down 6-10, while Chou’s returns became steeper and his attack stronger.
A great rally that Prannoy attempted to dictate finished with a lucky net chord for the Indian, who pulled even at 10-10 as Chou struggled at the front court.
After the match resumed, Prannoy improved his defence and hit some effective down-the-line smashes to pull ahead of his rival, who suddenly made a number of mistakes, particularly in the front court.
Chou launched a cross-court smash off the Indian’s serve to break the flow of play as Prannoy led 19–14. However, Prannoy made sure there were no hiccups by forcing Chou to go long as he brought the match to a conclusion.
Prannoy’s poor play in the decisive caused him to trail 1-4 as he smacked the shuttle wide. Chou went long three times before ending the arduous rally with a body smash to take the lead 6-4.
Prannoy struggled to control the shuttle, and a string of unforced mistakes allowed Chou to grab a six-point lead into halftime.
Prannoy made it 12-13 by building the rallies effectively and returning the ball with accuracy, including two lovely cross-court returns. However, as he went long and to the basket, unforced errors once more crept into his play, giving Chou a 17-14 lead. When the Indian attempted to score, the Taiwanese produced a body smash to preserve his three-point lead and earn three match points.
Prannoy saved the three match points when Chou went wide twice, but he then served out to give his opponent a match point again, and when Prannoy went wide, Chou won the point for himself.
