World No. 5 Srikanth, who had a 1-1 record against Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia coming into the match, failed to come up with his best game and lost 15-21 17-21 in a men's singles match here.
Top Indian men's doubles pair of Manu and Sumeeth, who reached the finals of Dutch Open last week, put up a brave fight before going down 19-21 22-20 19-21 to eight seeds Lee Sheng Mu and Tsai Chia Hsin of Chinese Taipei.
World No 16 Prannoy, who had lost to Hao at the 2011 Bulgarian International, could not exert enough pressure on his opponent and suffered a 21-23 21-19 15-21 loss in a men's singles match that lasted an hour and 21 minutes.
Prannoy had dominated most part of the opening game as he led 7-3 early on and even though Hao wrested control for a brief time at 13-12, the Indian grabbed the lead immediately with a four-point burst to move to 17-13 and then held three game points at 20-17.
Bolstered by the first game, World No. 24 Hao came into his own in the second and led right from the start to be 15-11 at one stage.
Prannoy, however, had other plans as he caught up with his rival after reeling off four points and after an intense battle managed to pocket the second game with three points straight from 18-19.
In the decider, Prannoy zoomed ahead to a 4-0 lead initially but Hao clawed back at 6-6 and after a battle of supremacy, he broke off from 13-13 to eventually seal the issue in his favour.
You’ve reached your limit of {{free_limit}} free articles this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
Already subscribed? Log in
Subscribe to read the full story →
Smart Quarterly
₹900
3 Months
₹300/Month
Smart Essential
₹2,700
1 Year
₹225/Month
Super Saver
₹3,900
2 Years
₹162/Month
Renews automatically, cancel anytime
Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans
Exclusive premium stories online
Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors


Complimentary Access to The New York Times
News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic
Business Standard Epaper
Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share


Curated Newsletters
Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox
Market Analysis & Investment Insights
In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor


Archives
Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997
Ad-free Reading
Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements


Seamless Access Across All Devices
Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app
