Badminton
Kumamoto Masters 2025: HS Prannoy returns to action – Preview
All you need to know about the 2025 Kumamoto Masters Super 500.
After the first round victory on Tuesday, HS Prannoy had mentioned that he was happy to be back on tour. (Photo credit: BAI)
After spending a month on the sidelines with an injury, ace Indian shuttler HS Prannoy is all set to return to action at the 2025 Kumamoto Masters Super 500 in Japan.
Prannoy, who had picked up an oblique injury at the Korea Open in late September, had missed the entire European leg of the BWF World Tour last month.
The BWF World Championships medallist, who has suffered eight first-round exits in the 2025 season so far, will open his campaign against Malaysia's Leong Jun Hao.
Accompanying him in the men's singles discipline in Japan will be Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty, and Kiran George.
Both Sen and Shetty have tough first round battles lined up, going up against home favourties Koki Watanabe and Kodai Naraoka in the first round on Tuesday.
Even as Prannoy returns to competitive action, India's double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu won't feature in the tournament after having called time on her season due to a foot injury.
"After consulting closely with my team and with the guidance of the incredible Dr Pardiwala, we felt it was best for me to withdraw from all remaining BWF Tour events in 2025," Sindhu had said in a statement last month.
"The foot injury I sustained before the European leg has not fully recovered, and while it is never easy to accept, injuries are an inseparable part of every athlete's journey. They test your resilience and patience, but they also spark the fire to come back stronger," she added.
In Sindhu's absence, India won't have any representation in women's singles in the Super 500 tournament as Naishaa Bhatoye lost out in the qualifying round.
Bhatoye had famously played the role of a young Saina Nehwal in the 2012 London Olympics medallist's biopic.
India will also not have any representation in men's doubles and women's doubles. The only doubles shuttlers from the country in contention will be Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde.
Indians in action
Men's Singles: HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty, Kiran George
Mixed Doubles: Rohan Kapoor-Ruthvika Gadde
Where to watch?
You can catch all the LIVE action from 2025 Kumamoto Masters on the BWF YouTube channel.
