Auckland: H S Prannoy fought valiantly before losing to fifth seed Kanta Tsuneyama of Japan in the men's singles quarterfinal, drawing curtains on India's campaign at the New Zealand Open badminton , here on Friday.
Unseeded Prannoy squandered a one-game advantage before losing 21-17, 15-21, 14-21 to world No. 11 Japanese shuttler in a marathon match which lasted an hour and 13 minutes.
The two now enjoy a 1-1 head-to-head record against each other.
The first game witnessed a close fight as both Prannoy and Tsuneyama matched each other stroke for stroke till the first 13 points before the Indian pocketed four straight points to surge ahead 17-13.
The Japanese didn't give up and reduced the gap to 17-18 before Prannoy secured three points on the trot to take the first game.
Prannoy raced to a 4-0 lead in the second game soon before extending it to 11-5.
But then the Indian hit a roadblock and committed unforced errors to give his opponent a leeway and the Tsuneyama grabbed the chance with both hands. He won eight straight points to move ahead 14-11.
The Indian managed to draw level at 14 apiece before Tsuneyama closed out the game at 21-15 in his favour.
The decider too was a hard-fought one as both the shuttlers were not in a mood to concede an each. They were tied at 14-14 before the Japanese raised his game to seal the tie.
Tsuneyama will play third seed and Jakarta Asian Games gold medallist Jonathan Christie in the semifinals.
