Overview

• World No. 35 Prannoy rallied from a game down and survived a 2-11 deficit and five match points to beat world No. 18 Koki Watanabe 8-21, 21-16, 23-21 in a 57-minute thriller.
• He will meet sixth seed Chou Tien Chen in the Round of 16 at the China Open Super 1000.
• The win marks Prannoy’s first deep run since returning from a nearly two-month layoff due to chikungunya.
• India’s Lakshya Sen, Anupama Upadhyay and both mixed doubles pairs bowed out in their opening-round matches.
• As the final Super 1000 event on the BWF World Tour, the China Open offers the last chance for top ranking points this season.