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World No. 9 HS Prannoy will set his sights on a Malaysia Masters final berth when he takes on Indonesian qualifier Christian Adinata in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, May 27.
Prannoy has been in imperious form at this Super 500 tournament, winning each of his three matches in as many grueling games.
The India No. 1 began his campaign by knocking out the sixth seed Chou Tien Chen 16-21, 21-14, 21-13 in the first round. He then continued his heroics with a 13-21, 21-16, 21-11 comeback victory over reigning All England Open champion Li Shi Feng.
On Friday, the Keralite was involved in yet another marathon in the quarter-finals against World No. 13 Kenta Nishimoto that lasted one hour 31 minutes. At the end of the match, the Indian shuttler emerged triumphant 25-23, 18-21, 21-13.
The result secured HS Prannoy's first semi-final of the season. He had earlier made it to the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Open and the Badminton Asia Championships.
HS Prannoy vs Christian Adinata: Head-to-head and prediction
HS Prannoy and Christian Adinata have never squared off on the tour before. Hence, their head-to-head is tied at a 0-0 deadlock for now.
The Malaysia Masters is the 21-year-old Adinata's breakout tournament on the tour. He came to this event on the back of a gold medal win at the Southeast Asian Games. Adinata has carried on from there, dazzling throughout the ongoing Malaysia Masters.
The World No. 57 won a couple of qualifying rounds to book his main-draw berth. Since then, he has accounted for Kantaphon Wangcharoen, Magnus Johannesen and Kidambi Srikanth to make the last four.
Against the resurgent Srikanth in the quarter-finals, Adinata had to work hard. He conceded the first game but came storming back to register a 16-21, 21-16, 21-11 win in 57 minutes.
Clearly, there's a huge gulf between the experience levels of HS Prannoy and Christian Adinata. With Prannoy in such relentless giant-killing form at this tournament, beating him might be a bridge too far for the young Adinata.
Malaysia Masters 2023, HS Prannoy vs Christian Adinata: Date and time
HS Prannoy and Christian Adinata will cross swords in the men's singles semifinals at the Malaysia Masters 2023 on Saturday in the fourth match of the day on Court 1.
Date: May 27, 2023
Time: Approx 3.30 pm local time, 1 pm IST
Venue: Axiata Arena, Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia Masters 2023, HS Prannoy vs Christian Adinata: Where to watch & live streaming details
The match will be broadcast live in India on Sports18 1 and Sports18 1 HD channels. Live streaming will be available on YouTube on BWF.TV.
Live scores can also be followed on the tournament software.
