Star Indian shuttler HS Prannoy suffered a straight-game loss to Hong Kong’s Ng Ka Long Angus in the quarterfinals to end his country’s campaign at the Taipei Open Super 300 tournament on Friday. The world No. 9 Indian didn’t find his rhythm and lost 19-21 8-21 to fifth seed Ka Long in a lop-sided contest. Coming into the match with a 6-5 head-to-head record, third seed Prannoy matched his rival at the beginning but as the match wore on, he crumbled. In the opening game, both shuttlers engaged in a tight game, leading to a close affair.
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After Ka Long made a service error, Prannoy had a two-point lead at the break.
The Indian netted a shot and missed the line next, so it was 12-12. Prannoy played some good-looking jump smashes to wriggle out of situations but the Hong Kong player kept himself in the hunt as the lead kept changing hands until 19-19.
Ka Long then won a rally comprising parallel shots to grab a game point and converted it when Prannoy shot long.
Ng Ka Long continued the momentum in the second game, leading 7-2 at one stage. His returns were more precise and his smashes had more sting as he troubled the Indians.
