Eighth seed HS Prannoy will lock horns with former top 10 player Wang Tzu Wei in the quarter-finals of the India Open 2024 in New Delhi on Friday (January 19).
After crashing out in the first round of the Malaysia Open last week, Prannoy has rebounded strongly this week with a couple of wins. He first made short work of the dangerous Chou Tien Chen 21-6, 21-19 before edging rising star Priyanshu Rajawat 20-22, 21-14, 21-14 in a grueling second-round showdown.
Up next is a tricky quarterfinal clash against World No. 28 Wang Tzu Wei, a player who has beaten Prannoy thrice in eight meetings.
India Open 2024, HS Prannoy vs Wang Tzu Wei: Head-to-head and Prediction
Prannoy has a 5-3 lead over Wang Tzu Wei in their head-to-head. The Indian got the better of the Chinese Taipei shuttler in their last couple of face-offs, at the Malaysia Masters 2022 and the All England Open 2023, both times in straight games.
Wang Tzu Wei, meanwhile, is a former junior World Championships silver medalist. He won the Syed Modi International in 2019, the Dutch Open in 2016 and the New Zealand Open in 2014. The 28-year-old, however, hasn't been consistent for quite some time.
Last year, his most notable results were a couple of semi-final finishes at the Taipei Open and Korea Masters apart from a quarter-final appearance at the BWF World Championships. This season, he, too, suffered a first-round exit at the Malaysia Open last week just like Prannoy before winning two matches this week in the Indian capital.
His opener against Indian youngster Kiran George saw Wang Tzu Wei notch up a facile 21-12, 21-15 win. His next match against compatriot Su Li Yang turned out to be a tough battle, with Wang eking out a 23-21, 6-21, 21-5 win in the end.
Prannoy, on the other hand, has come into 2024 on the back of his career-best season that saw him win historic bronze medals at the Asian Games and the BWF World Championships. He also won the Malaysia Masters title and finished second-best at the Australian Open.
Although the World No. 9 hasn't started the new season in the best possible fashion, he is expected to make it through to the last four given his overall consistency for the last one year.
India Open 2024, HS Prannoy vs Wang Tzu Wei: Date and time
HS Prannoy and Wang Tzu Wei will meet in the men's singles quarterfinal at the India Open 2024 on Friday in the eighth match of the day on Court 1 at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall.
Date: January 19, 2024
Round: Quarter-finals
Time: Approx. 7.00 pm IST
Venue: KD Jadhav Indoor Hall, New Delhi, India
India Open 2024, HS Prannoy vs Wang Tzu Wei: Where to watch & live streaming details
This India Open 2024 match will be telecast live in India on the Eurosport India channel. It will be live streamed on Jio Cinema as well as on YouTube on the BWF.TV and Badminton Asssociation of India channels.
Live scores can also be followed on the tournament software.