HS Prannoy loses in Malaysia Masters semis

HS Prannoy’s wait for his first individual title since 2017 continued as he lost in the singles semi-finals of the $3.6 million Malaysia Masters in three games to Hong Kong’s Angus Ng Ka-long in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.

The 29-year-old was aiming to reach his second final of the year but lost 21-17, 9-21, 17-21 in 64 minutes at the Axiata Arena. It was Prannoy’s fifth loss in nine meetings with the eighth seed but first in four outings.

In Sunday’s final, Angus will face Indonesia’s Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo, against whom the Hong Kong shuttler has a 2-0 record.

Prannoy, the world No 19, has been in red hot form this year, reaching the final at the Swiss Open in March and guiding India to a historic Thomas Cup triumph in May. The Pullela Gopichand protégé had also reached the semis of the Indonesia Open last month along with a host of quarter-finals through the first half of the year.

It was probably his best opportunity to win a tournament since the 2017 US Open, but Prannoy missed out despite having one foot in the final after winning the first game.

He had a big lead in the opening game before Angus closed the gap towards the end. The eighth seed carried the momentum into the second game to dominate proceedings. Angus found his rhythm and showed aggression in his shots to go 11-5 up at the mid-game interval. Though Prannoy tried fighting back, it was too late as Ka-long forced the decider.

Prannoy again seemed to have the upper hand in the third game but Angus came out with some decisive smashes to level the score at 9-all. He retrieved almost every smash by Prannoy from seemingly impossible situations to turn defence into attack. His better defence and willingness to reach and attack at the net helped him earn seven straight points, giving him a 13-9 lead and control of the contest.

Though Prannoy tried to fight back, Angus ensured a cushion of at least two points. Finally, a net error by Prannoy gave Angus victory, converting the first of his three match points.

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