Remember Singapore Open 2017 badminton tournament? Well, the tournament that was played earlier this year witnessed the first all-Indian Superseries final, in which Sai Praneeth edged past Kidambi Srikanth.
The ongoing US Open might as well become the third senior-level tournament in the ongoing season to have an all-Indian final after Singapore Open and season-opening Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold.
India's HS Prannoy and Parupalli Kashyap are both in the last-four round of the Grand Prix Gold tournament in Anaheim.
Prannoy faces tough test
Second seed Prannoy, as expected, has been dominant in the ongoing tournament. An early exit in Canada last week, days after his impressive wins over Olympic medallists Lee Chong Wei and Chen Long in Indonesia might have hurt him, but he has buckled up and is looking good for glory in the United States.
Prannoy defeated eighth seed Kanta Tsuneyama in the quarter-final outing that lasted an hour. After losing the first game, the 24-year-old came back from behind to win the match 10-21, 21-15, 21-18 and book a berth in the semi-final.
The Indian shuttler will be facing former world number five and 2013 World Championships bronze medallist Tien Minh Nguyen on Saturday, July 22. Notably, the Vietnam shuttler defeated the Indian in their only earlier meeting at Badminton Asia Championships in 2012.
Despite having an ordinary start to the season, Nguyen bounced back at Sudirman Cup in May, winning all his rubbers in Group 2. In the ongoing tournament, he has eased past India's Harsheel Dani, Spain's Pablo Abian, South Korea's Jeon Hyeok Jin before en route to the semi-final.
Kashyap favourite to reach the final
On the other hand, Kashyap decimated compatriot Sameer Verma in the quarter-final 21-13, 21-16 on Friday. The 30-year-old, who reached the semi-final of Korea Masters last year, was forced to miss a massive part of the early-season action in 2017 due to a knee injury.
Kashyap had been making steady progress and now seems to have hit peak form yet again.
The Hyderabad shuttler will face world number 111 Kwang Hee Heo of South Korea, who has had impressive wins over Malaysia's Zulfadli Zulkiffli and Japan's Koki Watanabe in the United States.
Men's doubles pair face uphill task
Also in action on Saturday are the third-seeded Men's doubles pairing of Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy. They will face top seeds Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han of Chinese Taipei in the semi-final.
When do the matches start
The badminton action on American Convention Center (ACC) 1 will begin at 1 pm local time, 1:30 am IST [Sunday].
1. HS Prannoy vs Tien Minh Nguyen is the second match on AAC 1.
2. Mannu Attri/Sumeeth Reddy semi-final is the fourth match on AAC 1.
3. Parupalli Kashyap vs Kwang Hee Heo is the fourth match on AAC 2. Matches at the said court will start at 1:10 pm local time, 1:40 am IST [Sunday]
How to watches matches on TV, online
India: TV: Star Sports 2. Live streaming: Hotstar
Malaysia: TV: Astro Supersport. Live streaming: Astro Go
Singapore: TV: Star Hub. Live streaming: Starhub Go
China: TV: CCTV 5+
Worldwide live streaming: BWF YouTube channel [Not available in India]
Live scores can be followed on BWF's official website.
