Prannoy, Satwik-Chirag advance to semi-finals

Pullela Gopichand is not known to be an animated character, always maintaining a certain calm and poise. But when HS Prannoy's down-the-line smash landed in the corner, the chief national coach exulted in his seat and pumped his fists in jubilation. With that point, Prannoy achieved what even Gopichand, along with many others couldn't achieve in 41 years. He became only the second Indian men's singles player after Syed Modi (bronze) in New Delhi 1982 to claim an Asian Games medal.

- Sandip Sikdar

In the form of his life, the 31-year-old pulled off a dramatic win against former All England champion Lee Zii Jia which saw him waste two match points and then save two to clinch a 21-16, 21-23, 22-20 win to enter the semifinals, ensuring India's second badminton medal at Hangzhou. He fell to the floor in elation, took his shirt off and then ran to hug his teary-eyed coach and his assistant RMV Gurusaidutt before breaking into a victory dance with 'dangal, dangal' reverberating at the Binjiang Gymnasium.