Muristek
Muelheim An Der Ruhr, March 11
World Championships bronze medallist Lakshya Sen continued his rich vein of form as he progressed to the men's singles semifinals of the German Open Super 300 tournament with a straight-game win over fellow Indian HS Prannoy here today.
The 20-year-old Sen, who had claimed his maiden Super 500 title at the India Open in January, saw off the former top-10 player 21-15 21-16 in 39 minutes.
The world No. 14 had defeated Prannoy, currently ranked 24th, at the quarterfinals of India Open as well.
Sen will now face top seed Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in the semifinals on Saturday. World No. 1 Axelsen beat Kidambi Srikanth 21-10 23-21. It was the Indian's sixth defeat on the trot to Axelsen.
On Thursday, Sen had notched up a stunning 21-7 21-9 win over fourth-seeded Indonesian Anthony Ginting in a second-round match.
Prannoy made a positive start, opening up a 4-0 lead early on but Sen caught up with him at 10-10 and zoomed ahead after the interval to take a 1-0 lead in the tie.
The second game was a tight affair initially as the duo moved neck-and-neck with Sen managing a slender 11-10 lead at the break. But, just like in the first game, Sen produced a five-point burst to eventually seal the contest comfortably. —