Sindhu-Pranay in quarterfinals

PV Sindhu and HS Pranay, who played a key role in India’s Thomas Cup title win, recorded contrasting victories on Thursday to advance to the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Open Super 750 tournament. Prannoy pulled off the biggest upset of the day when he defeated world No.4 Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei 21-15, 21-7 in a match lasting more than 30 minutes.Prannoy next meets Jonathan Christie of Indonesia, against whom he has won three games and lost five games.At the same time, former world champion Sindhu defeated Thailand’s Phitayaporn Cheiwan 19-21, 21-9, 21-14 in a match that lasted 57 minutes after losing the first game.The seventh-seeded Indian will face arch-rival Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in the next round. The 29-year-old Prannoy, who made it to the semi-finals of the Indonesia Open last week, started slowly in both games but once he got going the Indian didn’t give his opponent a chance.