Kidambi, Prannoy set up all-India pre-quarter finals clash at Japan Open Badminton
Srikanth and World no 10 Prannoy will face each other in the pre-quarterfinals of the BWF Super 750 tournament on Wednesday.
Srikanth and World no 10 Prannoy will face each other in the pre-quarterfinals of the BWF Super 750 tournament on Wednesday.
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) has been conducting selection trials for major team championships since last year with top-20 ranked players in the BWF world ranking being picked directly.
The team championship will be played on February 22 and 23 with a prize purse of Rs 10 Lakhs, while individual championships will have Rs 40-lakhs as prize money.
Lakshya was tested in the first game but was dominant in the second to register a 21-17, 21-10 win over Luis Penalver. Indian won seven straight points after trailing 4-6 to take a healthy lead to the interval.
Prannoy and Srikanth both won their matches in straight games as they faced off in the semifinals of the 2021 competition.
Lakshya, who was seeded ninth, won the bronze medal at Huelva's hosting of the competition in 2021.
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand of India won bronze in the badminton women's singles after defeating Australia's Chen Hsuan-Yu Wendy and Gronya Somerville in straight games 21-15, 21-19.
The Indian contingent had reached Birmingham as defending champions in three categories but has been able to retain the gold medal in only one.
World championships silver medallist Srikanth, 11th in the badminton rankings, lost to 41st-ranked Brice Leverdez of France 21-23, 10-21 in 42 minutes at the Istora Stadium.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday praised Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth for successfully leading Team India to their historic Thomas Cup victory.
