New Delhi: Parupalli Kashyap and H.S. Prannoy entered the semi-finals of the men’s singles of the US Open Grand Prix Gold in Anaheim on Saturday.
Kashyap reached his first international semi-final in seven months after defeating compatriot Sameer Verma 21-13, 21-16 in 40 minutes to set up a clash with South Korea’s Kwang Hee Heo.
Kashyap had qualified for the semis at the Korea Open last December.
For Prannoy, it was the second semi-final appearance of the season after the Indonesia Super Series Premier.
Second seed Prannoy saw off Japan’s Kanta Tsuneyama 10-21, 21-15, 21-18 in an an hour at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena.
Prannoy takes on 15th seed Tien Minh Nguyen of Vietnam, who had beaten the Indian at the 2012 Badminton Asia Championships in their only meeting so far.
Third seeds Manu and Sumeeth defeated Japan’s Hiroki Okamura and Masayuki Onodera 21-18 22-20 in the men’s doubles.
The duo will face top seeds Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han of Chinese Taipei next.
