HS Prannoy battled his way to the semifinals, becoming only the first Indian in 41 years to win a badminton medal in men's singles at the Asian Games, but it was curtains for PV Sindhu in women's singles in Hangzhou on Thursday.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty then progressed to the last four, becoming the second Indian men's doubles pair to secure a medal after Leroy D'sa and Pradeep Gandhe won a bronze in 1982.
Playing with a taping on his lower back and a belt under his shirt, Prannoy battled severe back spasm to dish out a performance for the ages, outshining Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia 21-16 21-23 22-20 in the quarterfinals to assure India a second badminton medal at the ongoing Games. (Asian Games 2023 Medals Tally | Asian Games 2023 Full Schedule) India had won a silver in men's team championships last Sunday. "I think it was a really tough one out there.
I think Lee is always a tough opponent. It was a very physical match today for me," Prannoy said after the match. "I'm not at all in a condition where I could say I'm 80 per cent right.