Lakshya Sen beats Prannoy to enter quarterfinals in Denmark Open

Odense: Commonwealth Games gold medallist Lakshya Sen got the better off his senior compatriot HS Prannoy in straight games to progress to the men’s singles quarterfinals of the Denmark Open Super 750 badminton tournament here.

Sen, a 2021 world championships bronze medallist, beat world number 13 Prannoy 21-9 21-18 in a 39-minute clash to set up a last eight clash with Japan’s Kodai Naraoka.

The two came into the match with a 2-2 head-to-head count in four meetings but the younger Sen proved to be the better player on the day as he made a rollicking to start to put Prannoy on the back foot on Thursday.

World number 8 Sen zoomed to a 5-1 lead early on before swelling it to 11-3 at the mid-game break. He kept moving ahead as Prannoy’s game crumbled.

In the second game, Prannoy gave a better account of himself as he kept breathing down his opponent’s neck with slender leads of 5-4 and 11-10. Things remained the same after the interval but Sen broke off at 17-17 to shut the door on Prannoy.