Swiss Open Quarter-Finals Showdown

While Kidambi Srikanth defeated world number three and second seed Anders Antonsen of Denmark while PV Sindhu, seeded second in the tournament, thrashed fifth seed Michelle Li of Canada. Prannoy, on the other hand, former Commonwealth Games gold medalist Parupalli Kashyap to advance to the semi-finals of the tournament. Unfortunately, the women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy walked out after losing in the quarter-final clash in Basel.

Srikanth Delivers a Nail-Biting Three-Setter

Kidambi Srikanth registered a 21-19 19-21 22-20 win against Denmark's Anders Antonsen. The Indian set up an early lead of 9-1 in the first game but Antonsen caught up and scored ten more points. He seized the lead from Srikanth but the World Championship silver medalist won the set 21-19. 

The second game progressed at a similar pace but after both the shuttlers were leveled 19-19, Anders Antonsen won two consecutive rallies to win the second game 21-19 pushing the match into a decider. The third game started out in favour of the world number three from Denmark but the former world number one Srikanth moved up his pace and the score equaled 7-7. Antonsen then won six consecutive points to create a wide score gap. 

However, Srikanth kept fighting until the score read 13-13. A few minutes later, he took an 18-15 lead but the Denmark shuttler earned a match point at 20-19. Surprisingly, Srikanth scored two more points to top the game at 22-20. After a nail-biting one hour and 19 minutes long match, Kidambi Srikanth will encounter world number eight Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the semi-final. 

PV Sindhu Storms into the Semi-Finals

India’s ace shuttler PV Sindhu advanced to the semi-finals in the women’s singles clash after beating Michelle Li in straight games 21-10, 21-19. Sindhu was in good form throughout the match. The score read 17-4 before the Indian pocketed the first game with an 11 point lead. The second game was tougher for Sindhu as the Canadian led 3-0 but it was leveled to 4-4 shortly after. 

P.V Sindhu shot back to a 14-9 lead before Li improved her game to reach her opponent at 16-16. The second game settled at 19-19 before Sindhu won two more points and won the match that lasted 36 minutes. She will now meet unseeded Supanida Katethong of Thailand in the semifinals on March 26, 2022.

Pranmoy Advances to the Semis, Verma Loses

Indian shuttler HS Prannoy defeated compatriot and former Commonwealth Games gold medalist Parupalli Kashyap in straight games 21-16, 21-16 to enter the semi-finals. He will now face third-seeded Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in the semifinals. The Indonesian beat Indian shuttler Sameer Verma in straight games 21-17 21-14 in a quarterfinal match lasting 39 minutes. Meanwhile, the women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy bowed out of the Swiss Open 2022 after an unfortunate defeat in the hands of Malaysia’s Vivian Hoo and Lim Chiew Sien 21-23, 20-22, in a match that lasted for 54 minutes.