Paris, Jul 31 (PTI) India's HS Prannoy staved off a spirited challenge from Vietnam's Le Duc Phat in the final group match to advance to the men's singles pre-quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics here on Wednesday.

The 32-year-old from Kerala, who had recovered from a bout of chikungunya to compete in his maiden Olympics, squandered the opening game but got his acts together in time to notch up a 16-21 21-11 21-12 over the world number 70 Le in a hard-fought battle.

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A world championships and Asian Games bronze medallist, Prannoy will next face Lakshya Sen in a all-Indian pre-quarterfinal clash.

Prannoy had defeated Germany's Fabian Roth in the opening group match.

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(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)