Jakarta, June 17:
K Srikanth was at his grittiest best as he shocked world No.1 Son Wan Ho for a place in the final but giant-killer H S Prannoy’s battle ended in agony at the USD 1,000,000 Indonesia Super Series Premier, here today.
Srikanth fought like a man possessed to outclass Son Wan Ho 21-15 18-21 24-22 in an energy-sapping men’s singles match that lasted an hour and 12 minutes here.
After his stunning wins over Olympic silver-medallist Lee Chong Wei and Rio gold-medallist Chen Long, expectations were high from Prannoy but the Indian suffered a heart-breaking 21 -17 26-28 18-21 defeat to Japanese Kazumasa Sakai in a 77- minute men’s singles match.
Srikanth had a 2-4 head-to-head record against Son, having lost to the Korean four times in the last four meetings but all that didn’t matter today as he survived a battle of attrition at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC).
World No. 22 Srikanth will next face World No. 47 Sakai in the finals tomorrow.
This is the fourth Super Series final for Srikanth, who had reached the summit clash in Singapore in April and won the 2014 China Open and the 2015 India Open.
Prannoy, on the other hand, bowed out after Sakai registered his second win over the Indian, following up after the victory at the 2013 edition. (PTI)
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