Berlin: Lakshya Sen progressed to the semi-fials, but Kidambi Srikanth suffered a straight-game loss to Viktor Axelsen to bow out of the German Open here on Friday.
Lakshya continued his rich vein of form as he saw off HS Prannoy 21-15, 21-16 in an all-Indian quarter-final clash that lasted 39 minutes. The 20-year-old will face top seed and Olympic gold medallist Axelsen of Denmark in the last-four stage on Saturday.
World No.1 Axelsen proved a tough customer for Srikanth, who went down 10-21, 21-23 in 35 minutes. In his match, Prannoy made a positive start, opening up a 4-0 lead, but Lakshya caught up with him at 10-10. The latter zoomed ahead after the interval to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second game was a tight affair, with Lakshya managing a slender one-point (11-10) lead at the break. But, just like in the first game, Lakshya produced a five-point burst to eventually seal the contest with ease.