Badminton
Japan Masters 2023: HS Prannoy loses, Indian challenge ends
With the exit of HS Prannoy in the second round, the Indian challenge at the Japan Masters Super 500 tournament ended.
HS Prannoy (Source: BAI)
Indian shuttler HS Prannoy lost a tightly-fought match against Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the second round of the Japan Masters Super 500 badminton tournament on Thursday.
Returning from an injury, Prannoy squandered an opening game advantage to lose 21-19, 16-21, 19-21 to world number 12 Chou in a 73-minute match.
With Prannoy's defeat, the Indian challenge at the Japan Masters ended.
Prannoy looked in much control as raced away to a 4-0 lead and then went into the mid-game break leading 11-8. Chou kept fighting but Prannoy sealed the opening game without much trouble.
However, Chou came back strong in the second game and started the game with a big lead of 5-0. Prannoy fought back to make it 10-10 but then Chou quickly won points to race away and win the second game 21-16.
In the deciding game, Chou started dominantly and led the game 12-4 at one stage before Prannoy started his fightback.
It was a tremendous display from the Indian shuttler as he closed down the game to 16-19 and then made it 19-19 with his brilliant winners. Chou managed the win the match at a crucial time as Prannoy made a mistake on the net to concede the match.
Earlier on Wednesday, Priyanshu Rajawat and Lakshya Sen lost to Lin Chu Yi and Kodai Naraoka respectively in the first round. India's only representation in doubles, Satwik Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also bundled in the first round.
