Indonesia’s mixed doubles players were on song today at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2019, with three pairs making the quarterfinals.

With the exception of Ricky Karandasuwardi/Pia Zebadiah Bernadet, who fell to top seeds Wang Yilyu/Huang Dongping (China), the other Indonesian pairs came good against strong opposition.

Fourth seeds Hafiz Faizal/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja overcame home hopefuls Pranaav Jerry Chopra/Sikki Reddy 19-21 21-19 21-14 to earn a quarterfinal place against compatriots Tontowi Ahmad/Winny Oktavina Kandow, who were 21-11 21-19 winners over sixth seeds Lu Kai/Chen Lu.

In the bottom half of the draw, fifth seeds Praveen Jordan/Melati Daeva Oktavianti shook off the challenge of Hong Kong’s Tang Chun Man/Ng Tsz Yau 21-18 21-15.

Match of the Session

Indian men’s singles ace HS Prannoy kept up his dominance over Denmark’s Jan O Jorgensen, beating him for the fourth time in as many matches.

It was a hard-fought battle as Jorgensen pushed the match to a third game after taking the second in a tight finish. The Dane couldn’t sustain his momentum and fell behind in the decider and never recovered. Prannoy, who has had fitness concerns in the recent past, wrapped up the match 19-21 22-20 21-17 in 67 minutes and will take on second seed Viktor Axelsen in the quarterfinals.

Other Results

• Kidambi Srikanth, Sai Praneeth and Parupalli Kashyap joined Prannoy in the quarterfinals. Kidambi beat Lu Guangzu (China) 21-11 21-16, while Praneeth outplayed compatriot Sameer Verma 18-21 21-16 21-15. Parupalli shut out Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk in straight games.
• Women’s singles third seed He Bingjiao was too strong for senior compatriot Li Xuerui, needing just 38 minutes to enter the quarterfinals, 21-18 21-17.
• Fifth seeds Ou Xuanyi/Ren Xiangyu were the only Chinese left in the quarterfinals of men’s doubles. Their compatriots Huang Kaixiang/Wang Zekang were beaten by India’s Manu Attri/Sumeeth Reddy 25-23 21-18.

Talking Point

“We need to be more consistent. Hafiz and I need to stay away from negativity before and during the matches and stay positive and play with confidence. I always tell Hafiz we can do this,” – Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja.