All posts tagged: hs prannoy

Prannoy, Unnati progress to second round

Prannoy, Unnati progress to second round

Published by Webster

Seasoned shuttler HS Prannoy and Unnati Hooda, the spearheads of India’s campaign, advanced to the second round of their respective singles events at the Taipei Open Super 300 on Wednesday. Seeded seventh, Prannoy defeated Minoru Koga of Japan 21-11, 21-14 in his opening round men’s singles match that lasted just 35 minutes. He will next take on Hong Kong’s Jason Gunawan, who beat another Indian Mithun Manjunath 21-18, 21-4 in another first round tie. Among other Indian men’s singles players to progress to the second round were Kiran George and Tharun Mannepalli. While George defeated Wang Po-Wei of Chinese Taipei 21-10 21-18, Mannepalli stunned eight seed Jeon Hyeok Jin of Korea 21-12, 21-15. George and Mannepalli will play each other in the next round. But it was curtains for the likes of rising Rounak Chauhan, who progressed through men’s singles qualifiers, as he was shown the door by Richie Duta Richardo of Indonesia 14-21, 16-21. Third seed Unnati started her women’s singles campaign on a positive note by registering a 21- 12, 21-18 win Pei …

HS Prannoy, Devika Sihag exit in opening round

HS Prannoy, Devika Sihag exit in opening round

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India had a disappointing start to their campaign at the 2026 China Open Super 1000 as HS Prannoy and Devika Sihag lost their respective first round matches on Tuesday. Prannoy, who was up against Leong Jun Hao of Malaysia, failed to put up any sort of fight against the world No 27. The Indian surrendered 10-21, 14-21 meekly in just 32 minutes to crash out of the competition in the opening round. On contrary, Sihag pushed world No 20 Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand out of her comfort zone in a match which lasted 61 minutes. 🚨#news l 🇮🇳 HS Prannoy and Devika both fall in the first round of the China Open 🏆 Prannoy lost 10-21, 14-21 against Malaysia’s Leong Jun Hao 🇲🇾 While Devika Sihag fell to Busanan Ongbamrunphan 🇹🇭 in three games 19-21, 21-19, 13-21.#badminton #BWF pic.twitter.com/ZgEVM84tC4 — The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) July 21, 2026 Sihag started off well and gave a good account of herself in the opening game, staying within a touching distance of her opponent before the Thai shuttler upped the …

most dig Argentina; Portugal, England, Spain have backers too

most dig Argentina; Portugal, England, Spain have backers too

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Ayush Shetty names Argentina as his favourite FIFA World Cup team, but the youngster is hedging heavily on dark horses, Spain. At her home, PV Sindhu has a Portugal vs Germany rivalry going with her sports-loving husband Venkata Datta Sai, ahead of the World Cup in Mexico, USA and Canada. HS Prannoy’s favourite World Cup memory would be watching football when he was young: “Watching The Brazilian Ronaldo do his magic inside the box.” Former All England champ Pullela Gopichand digs Argentina and Messi magic too, and watched the 2006 World Cup LIVE in Germany, as a nation shrugged off its past, opening up to the world. Game recognises game, goes the saying when athletes identify with exceptional moments in sport – even another sport. But the FIFA World Cup can leave the biggest athletes in their own sport, dealing in superlatives, like crazed happy fans whose moods are regulated for one month in four years by a different sport than their own. Prannoy grew up watching videotapes of Taufiq Hidayat and his backhand that …

Prannoy turns table on World No 5 Jonatan Christie for first win over him since 2021

Prannoy turns table on World No 5 Jonatan Christie for first win over him since 2021

Published by Webster

5 min readMay 27, 2026 04:35 PM IST HS Prannoy hadn’t defeated Top 5 regular, Indonesian Jonatan Christie since January of 2021. In fact he had only one win to show from his last 8 matches against the consistent Jojo since 2018. But top players – Jojo is World No 5 currently – have always known how dangerous the 33-year-old Indian can be. On Wednesday he defeated the Indonesian 10-21, 21-12, 21-18 with a typical Prannoying-playbook at the Super 750 Singapore Open. In the Singapore Indoor Stadium which commentators call the ‘Hairdryer arena’ because of its bellicose drift, that maddens the shuttle flight, Prannoy showed what complete, cerebral badminton can be. His ranking hovers close to his age these days, it’s No 35 this week. But the double-medallist from Thomas Cups, who has medals at World Championships, Asian Games, Asian Championships and the Malaysia Masters, took out Christie with a mix of psychological pressure and supreme racquet skills. It tends to get overlooked because Kidambi Srikanth’s game was so elegant and Lakshya Sen’s style is …

HS Prannoy stuns world no.5 Jonatan Christie

HS Prannoy stuns world no.5 Jonatan Christie

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Star Indian shuttler HS Prannoy registered a massive win in the opening round of the 2026 Singapore Open Super750 Tournament on Wednesday. He came from behind to stun the world No. 5 Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in three games, 10-21, 21-12, 21-18, to reach the round of 16. After a disappointing first game, the 33-year-old made a good comeback in the second game, showcasing his power game to dominate the rallies and push a decider. In the third game, both players had a steady start, keeping each other within reach and in the end, Prannoy won the final three points and won the match. This was the 10th meeting between the two players, with Christie leading their head-to-head 7-2, but Prannoy finally got the better of him after five years. On the other hand, the Indian mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto also moved to the second round with a three-game win. They defeated the Malaysian pair of Wong Tien Ci and Sien Lim Chiew, 21-14, 20-22, 21-13, to set up a …

Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy exit in first round

Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy exit in first round

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Top Indian shuttlers HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen faced an early exit at the Malaysia Masters Super 500 Tournament in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. The All England finalist Lakshya bowed down in a straight-game 17-21, 11-21 affair to the 18-year-old rising star Zaki Ubaidillah of Indonesia. The two-time junior world medalist Zaki outclassed his much higher-ranked opponent in a comfortable first-round matchup in 43 minutes. Meanwhile, Prannoy showed a good fight against World No. 9 Kodai Naraoka of Japan, but a lack of composure in the dying moments cost him the match. The 33-year-old had five match points in the decider, leading 20-16, but he could not close it out and lost in three games, 17-21, 22-20, 22-24. 🏸Bad day at the office for Indian shuttlers at #MalaysiaMasters2026 — – Lakshya Sen loses against 18-year-old Zaki Ubaidullah in the opening round.Score: 17-21, 11-21 – HS Prannoy loses to world no.9 Kodai Naraoka despite having five match points in the deciding game. Score:… pic.twitter.com/gobFrigbpy — The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) May 20, 2026 On the other hand, Malvika …

Lakshya Sen targets his second final of the year – Preview

Lakshya Sen targets his second final of the year – Preview

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Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy will lead the Indian squad at the second BWF Super 500 tournament of the month, the Malaysia Masters, from May 19 to 24. This will be Laskhya’s second successive tournament, while HS Prannoy returns for the first time since India’s bronze-medal-winning performance at the Thomas Cup. Lakshya will face the fast rising Indonesian Zaki Ubaidillah in the first round, with a potential tough quarterfinal against the in-form Christo Popov of France. It will be a much-anticipated match-up for the fans, who missed out on this potential matchup at the Thomas Cup semi-final due to an injury withdrawal from Lakshya. Meanwhile, HS Prannoy has a tough first-round battle against world no.1 Kodai Naraoka of Japan, who has a 6-1 advantage over the Indian in head-to-head record. On the other hand, in the absence of PV Sindhu, youngsters Anmol Kharb, Tanvi Sharma, and Devika Sihag will be the ones to watch out for in women’s singles. Indian Squad at the Malaysia Masters 2026 Men’s Singles: Kiran George, Tharun Manepalli, HS Prannoy, Lakshya …

Chirag Shetty, HS Prannoy rue lack of recognition, support for Thomas Cup team

Chirag Shetty, HS Prannoy rue lack of recognition, support for Thomas Cup team

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As the Indian men’s badminton team landed in the country with a bronze medal from the 2026 Thomas Cup on Tuesday, doubles star Chirag Shetty posted an Instagram story. “Back home now. As usual, no one knows what happened over the past two weeks, and it seems like no one cares,” the story read. Shetty, who has been the most vocal of shuttlers over the last four years about the lack of recognition he and his counterparts received for the 2022 Thomas Cup win, was ruing the same lack of support from his countrymen. The story was also reshared by his doubles partner Satwiksairaj Rankireddy as the duo expressed their disappointment. “I never expected anyone to come to the airport and receive us,” said Shetty in a media interaction felicitated by Sports Authority of India (SAI). “The last time when we when Thomas Cup we were felicitated by the Badminton Association of India (BAI) and Prime Minister, but I feel it didn’t get celebrated as much as it should be by the fans. “The people …

“The rules need to change,” says Chirag Shetty on the Thomas Cup match format

“The rules need to change,” says Chirag Shetty on the Thomas Cup match format

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India’s shot at reclaiming their Thomas Cup title, quite possibly, ended before their semi-final clash against France even began in Horsens, Denmark on Saturday. The Badminton World Federation’s (BWF) match-order rules, which let France play their stronger suit of three singles matches effectively put India on the backfoot tactically. The injury and subsequent absence of Lakshya Sen didn’t help either as India went down 0-3 with their ace doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty not even needed to step on court. In a media interaction felicitated by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) on Tuesday, Chirag shied away from complaining about the rules but put out a well-reasoned argument for reform. “I think a lot of the badminton-playing nations would want to change the way the ties are because it sort of advantages France for all the matches they played,” said Chirag. “Because if they have to win a tie, it has to be in the first three matches.” He pointed to the final as further evidence: When Shi Yu Qi won the …

India settles for bronze at Thomas Cup 2026 after semi-final loss to France

India settles for bronze at Thomas Cup 2026 after semi-final loss to France

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India’s men’s badminton team signed off with a bronze medal at the Thomas & Uber Cup 2026 after suffering a 0-3 defeat to France in the semi-finals in Horsens, Denmark. The result marks the country’s second podium finish in the prestigious team championship following their historic title triumph in 2022, reaffirming India’s status among the world’s elite badminton nations. However, the absence of spearhead Lakshya Sen due to an elbow injury proved a significant setback. The top Indian singles player was ruled out as a precautionary measure after sustaining a swollen right elbow during India’s quarter-final victory over Chinese Taipei. Youngster Ayush Shetty, handed the opening singles responsibility, was comprehensively outplayed by World No. 4 Christo Popov, going down 11-21, 9-21 in just 39 minutes. France strengthened their grip when Alex Lanier defeated Kidambi Srikanth 21-16, 21-18. With the tie already decided, HS Prannoy fought hard but lost 19-21, 16-21 to Toma Junior Popov, completing France’s clean sweep. Missed opportunity but promising signs of depth The semi-final loss will be viewed as a missed chance …