US Open 2019 Badminton Championships: HS Prannoy and Sourabh Verma progress into the quarterfinals 

Indian badminton stars HS Prannoy and Sourabh Verma progressed into the quarter-finals of the US Open 2019 Badminton Championships played at the Titan Gym, Fullerton California on Thursday.

Sourabh Verma defeated Indian counter part Lakshya Sen in a tough clash, as the game was contested over three gruelling sets. Verma held his nerves to win the match by a 21-11, 19-21, 21-12 margin in a match that lasted for 53 minutes.

Having dominated proceedings in the opening game to take an early 21-11 advantage in the match, Sen came back strong in the second set to close out the gap but was unfortunate to lose out by just two points as Verma completed a 21-19 win. The third set followed a similar template to the first as Verma wrapped up the match with a 21-12 win.

In yet another second round clash, 2017 US Open champion HS Prannoy defeated Korea’s Kwang Hee Heo in three straight sets as he registered a 21-16, 18-21, 21-16 victory to move into the quarterfinals of the tournament.

With the likes of Ajay Jayaram and Parupalli Kashyap in the men's section and Anura Prabhudesai and Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli in the women's section knocked out of the competition, the duo of HS Prannoy and Sourabh Verma are the only representatives from India in contention for a title win.

On 12th July, Prannoy and Verma will be squaring off in a mouth watering quarterfinal clash. Going by head to head records, Verma enjoys an unbeaten 3-0 win-loss ratio over Prannoy but on the day, one can expect an exciting clash on the cards.

The first-ever Indian shuttler to win the US Open Badminton championships, Prannoy will be keen on adding yet another title to his credit while 26-year old Verma could be in line for a spot in the semi-final of the competition.