CHENNAI: HS Prannoy’s determination, fighting spirit and imposing badminton have taken him a long way in recent times, especially this year. After assuring himself a bronze medal in the ongoing World Championships in Copenhagen on Friday, the 31-year-old was looking to go the distance. And that was not farfetched given his prosperous run.
However, that was not meant to be as he went down (21-18, 13-21, 14-21) against Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the men’s singles semifinal on Saturday. But he didn’t go without a fight. All those aforementioned attributes were visible as he took on Vitidsarn.
The World No 9, who became the fifth men’s singles player to capture a medal in the marquee event on Friday, was dictating play in the opening game.
The Kerala shuttler was attacking his rival’s backhand. Vitidsarn, on the other hand, was unable to cope with the pressure and was making plenty of errors. The Thai shuttler did show some fight towards the end but Prannoy closed the game comfortably.
Even in the second game, Prannoy was on point from the word go and had a handy lead. However, Vitidsarn refused to yield and started to find his feet. That’s when the narrative changed. Prannoy looked tired while Vitidsarn looked renewed. In the end, Vitidsarn won the game fairly comfortably to take the match to a decider.
The third game was an intriguing one as both players refused to bow down. But it was Vitidsarn who had the slender lead at the early stages. Visibly buoyed after pocketing the second game, the Thai shuttler was pulling off some sharp returns and landing some powerful winners as well. The Thai shuttler built a handy lead before sealing Prannoy’s fate.
Prannoy, who captured the Malaysia Masters title earlier this year, bows out with plenty of takeaways. Beating World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen in his own backyard is one of the highlights. The Denmark shuttler, who has proven to be a riddle for most shuttlers in the BWF circuit over the years, was clearly rattled by Prannoy just a day earlier.