A valiant HS Prannoy rallied his way to a morale-boosting three-game win over China's Lu Guang Zu as he and double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu progressed to the second round of the Badminton Asia Championships here on Wednesday.
World No. 9 Prannoy showed exemplary mental fortitude as he battled for 90 minutes before prevailing 17-21 23-21 23-21 over Lu, ranked 16th, to set up a second-round clash with Chinese Taipei's Lin Chun-Yi.
Sindhu, who is desperately seeking to rediscover her form ahead of the Paris Olympics, too survived some tense moments before overcoming world number 33 Goh Jin Wei from Malaysia 18-21 21-14 21-19 in a tough opening round match.