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What's the story?
PV Sindhu joined Saina Nehwal in the quarterfinals of the ongoing Malaysia Masters 2020 Tournament. Meanwhile, HS Prannoy bowed out of the Super 500 tournament taking place in Kuala Lumpur after his Round 2 defeat.
The background
Current World Number 6 Sindhu had ousted Russia's Evgeniya Kosetskaya in her Round 1 match on Day 2 of the tournament. She faced Japan's Aya Ahori in her Round 2 game on Day 3.
On the other hand, HS Prannoy - after winning his Round 1 fixture against Kenta Tsuneyama of Japan - was drawn against top seed Kento Momota in the pre-quarterfinal fixture.
The heart of the matter
Sindhu was just too classy for her Japanese opponent. The 24-year-old was dominating and defeated Ohori 21-10 21-15 in straight sets in a match which lasted 35 minutes. This was her 9th straight win over the World Number 19. With this triumph, Sindhu has set up her quarterfinal with Tai Tzu Ying.
Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu is the top seed in the Super 500 tournament. South Korea's Sung Ju Hyun gave the World Number 2 a momentary scare by winning a game against her in Round 2.
Sindhu and Tai Tzu have faced each other 16 times previously. The Chinese Taipei shuttler leads 11-5 in the head-to-head results and also won the last time the two met at the French Open in October 2019.
The defending World Champion will play her quarterfinal encounter on January 10.
Over to the Men's Singles category, HS Prannoy also bowed out of the tournament after his 14-21 16-21 defeat to Kento Momota. The Indian was never the favourite but fought with valour. In the end, World Number 1 Japanese shuttler got the better of the Indian and wrapped up the match in 45 minutes.
Earlier in the day, Sameer Verma had also bowed out of the Men's Singles category while Saina Nehwal had entered the quarterfinals after her Round 2 win against An Se Young.
Also Read - Malaysia Masters 2020: Saina Nehwal storms into quarters, will face Carolina Marin; Sameer Verma bows out
What's next?
Prannoy's defeat means that the Indian challenge in the Men's Singles category is over.
India will now be resting their hopes on two-time Commonwealth Games champion Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu.
