Second seed Shi Yuqi takes on fifth seed HS Prannoy in the Men's singles quarter-final of Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold at St. Jakobshalle in Basel on Friday.
Shi faced a tough test against ninth-seeded Danish shuttler Anders Antonsen in his Round of 16 clash yesterday. The 21-year-old dropped the first game only to make a strong comeback and take the match 16-21, 21-15, 21-16 in an hour and a minute. Prannoy was also pushed to the limits against China's Qiao Bin. The world number 23 conceded the first game 9-21 but battled hard to take the second 23-21 before easing to a 21-15 win in the decider.
Shi, who won his maiden Superseries title at France last year, has begun the new season on a high by battling odds to earn a runner-up finish at this month's All England Championships. The world number eight stunned Lin Dan enroute to the title match, in which he was outclassed by world number Lee Chong Wei. While he has not met Prannoy in the past, the Chinese shuttler starts as favourite to win his quarter-final clash but he will have to be at his best against the Indian.
Prannoy started the year with a brilliant run at Premier Badminton League in India but has not carried that form into international tournaments so far. The 24-year-old suffered an early exit at Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold but contributed well for India with two wins at the inaugural Badminton Robot Asia Championships, including one against world number five Son Wan Ho.
However, another early exit at All England means Prannoy is having issues with his consistency. It will be an uphill task for the Indian against Shi and a lot will depend on how fresh the two tall shuttlers are after their gruelling Round of 16 encounters.
TV Schedule
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