New Zealand Open: Shuttler HS Prannoy eyes semi-final berth

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Indian ace shuttler HS Prannoy will look to continue his good form and book his place in the semi-finals of the New Zealand Open when he squares off with fifth seed Kanta Tsuneyama of Japan in the quarter-finals of the tournament in Auckland on Friday. 

The 26-year-old, who is unseeded in this tournament, had earlier stormed into the quarter-finals of the New Zealand Open after easing past second-seed Tommy  Sugiarto of Indonesia in the round-of-16 of the men's singles event that lasted just 37 minutes. 

Notably, it was the first-ever meeting between Prannoy and  Sugiarto.

Prannoy from New Delhi is now all set to meet 2018 Asian Games bronze-medallist Tsuneyama, who stormed into the last-eight after registering a 21-14, 25-23 triumph over Sitthikom Thammasin of Thailand in 52 minutes. 

Prannoy is currently the lone Indian survivor in the tournament after B. Sai Praneeth slumped to a straight-game 12-21, 12-21  defeat at the hands of legendary Chinese player Lin Dan in the second round of the tournament. 

Seventh seed Lin Dan will now face top-seed Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia for a place in the semi-final.