PARIS: HS Prannoy advanced to the pre-quarters in men's singles badminton at the Olympics with come from behind 2-1 (16-21, 21-11, 21-12) win against Duc Phat Le of Vietnam in a Group K match on Wednesday.
With both Prannoy and Le beating German Fabain Roth, it was virtually a knockout to decide the Group winner who got a place in the last 16.
Prannoy will now take on compatriot Lakshya Sen in the pre-quarters.
Prannoy failed to dictate terms in the first game and lost the plot after 15-16 as Le raced to pocket the game in 21 minutes.
But the Indian came back strongly to take a 19-11 lead in the second game and soon made it 20-11 before pushing the match into a deciding third game, winning the second in 19 minutes.
Riding high on confidence after finding his edge, Prannoy dictated terms in the decider.
He foxed his rival with a mix defencen and aggression. After leading 11-8 creating the point with a disguised smash, the Indian ran to a 19-11 lead before Le threw in the towel with another mistake at the net.