The Lakshya Sen vs HS Prannoy, men's singles round of 16 match is scheduled to begin at 5:40pm IST. The exact timing depends on when the previous match on Court 3 ends. (Streaming | Full Olympics Coverage)
A tired-looking HS Prannoy went down in straight games 21-12, 21-6 to the 22-year-old Lakshya Sen. With the easy win, Sen booked a quarter-final clash against Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien Chen. Catch the highlights of the men's singles badminton match
The Lakshya Sen vs HS Prannoy, men's singles round of 16 match is scheduled to begin at 5:40pm IST. The exact timing depends on when the previous match on Court 3 ends. (Streaming | Full Olympics Coverage)
HS Prannoy is ranked higher than Lakshya Sen in the world rankings. Prannoy is at 13th rank whereas Sen is at 19th position in the world.
In the battle of Indian derby, Sen vs Prannoy, only one will move forward. So, the winner will move to the quarterfinals of men's singles and the campaign of the player who loses the match, will end.
Lakshya Sen started his campaign with a win over Guatemalan player Kevin Cordon which was "deleted" because Cordon pulled out of the event due to injury. Next, he beat Belgian player Julien Carraggi then Indonesia's Jonatan Christie.
India's top seed started with an easy win over Germany's Fabian Roth in the group-stage fixture. Then he defeated Vietnam's Le Duc Phat yesterday after losing the first set.
The two Indians are out on court and engage in some pre-match knocking. Meanwhile, their compatriots Satwik and Chirag have crashed out of the men's doubles competition with a heartbreaking loss to Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik.
A subdued hue to the match, most likely because they are having to face each other instead of a non-Indian opponent. No coaches on either side, as is common practice in matches involving players from same countries. Sen surges to a four-point lead, meanwhile.
The 22-year-old from Almora heads into the mid-game break with a five-point cushion.
Sen continues to coast in Game 1, though Prannoy is not giving him any easy point. A six-point lead for the 22-year-old, with six more points needed to pocket the opener.
Sen wins the first game comfortably, cruising past Prannoy with a 21-12 margin. Hardly any celebration from the youngster, though, as both of them head to their corners introspectively.
Similar pattern of play in the second game as Sen zooms to a five-point lead. He is controlling the pace of the rally and mixing up his attacking strokes nicely. Prannoy needs something special to fight back from this juncture.
Lakshya leads at the second-game break with an eight-point margin. Prannoy appears to almost be resigned to his fate at this stage, certainly tired from last night's gruelling clash.
More of the same as Lakshya marches on nonchalantly. Prannoy, on the other hand, going through the motions.
And that's that. Sen takes out his countryman and tour roommate HS Prannoy in straight games 21-12, 21-6 to advance to the men's singles quarter-finals. As for Prannoy, that's the end of the road in Paris.
With his facile win today, Sen has booked a last-eight meeting with Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien Chen. The quarter-final will be played tomorrow (August 2, Friday) at around 6:30pm IST.