Prannoy stuns Lin Dan to enter second round

Unseeded Prannoy rallied from a set down to beat his formidable third seeded rival 14-21 21-11 21-17 in a first round match that lasted one hour and 11 minutes.

HS Prannoy is ranked 17th in the world in Men's Singles but is still unseeded at the French Open Super Series.

Indian shuttler H S Prannoy stunned reigning Olympic champion Lin Dan of China to enter the second round of the USD 275,000 French Open Super Series here today.

Unseeded Prannoy rallied from a set down to beat his formidable third seeded rival 14-21 21-11 21-17 in a first round match that lasted one hour and 11 minutes at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin.

Prannoy lost the opening set tamely as the veteran former world number one Lin gave him little chance after the two were tied at 7-7. Lin raced ahead to take the set 21-14 in quick time. But the Indian made a remarkable fightback and suddenly Lin was struggling to make a match with Prannoy who led all through after the score was tied at 2-2.

In the decider, Prannoy nosed ahead initially but Lin made a fightback to level the score to 14-14 and 15-15. From then on, however, Prannoy stepped on the gas and made his final flourish to take the deciding set 21-17 and win the match.