BWF World Championships Highlights: HS Prannoy settled for bronze medal in the BWF World Championships 2023. The World No.9 lost to third seed Kunlavuit Vitidsarn 21-18, 13-21, 14-21 in the semifinal on Saturday, 26th August. With Prannoy’s loss, India’s campaign in the tournament has come to an end.
Also Read: BWF World Championships Highlights: Prannoy knocks out Axelsen, Chirag-Satwik ousted
Prannoy’s bronze medal win extended India’s record of having at least one medallist in the showpiece since 2011. The 31-year-old squandered an opening game advantage and a 5-1 lead in the second as Vitidsarn sealed a second successive final spot.
He became only the fifth Indian men’s singles player to win a World Championships medal. Kidambi Srikanth (silver), Lakshya Sen (bronze), B Sai Praneeth (bronze) and Prakash Padukone (bronze) are the other medallists in men’s singles.
A day after knocking out Olympic gold medallist and defending champion Viktor Axelsen, ninth-seeded Prannoy failed to find his best in the 76-minute semifinal.
The first game was tight with the scores initially at 5-5. He soon gained the momentum and with seven straight points entered the interval with a 11-5 lead. He continued to maintain the lead and grabbed the first game.
In the second game, Prannoy opened up with a 4-0 lead. Vitidsarn however bounced back and took the lead. The momentum shifted after errors mounted from the Indian’s end. Vitidsarn soon moved to 18-13 Net shot from Prannoy then handed seven game points to Vitidsarn, who converted after the Indian went long again.
Vitidsarn continued to stay ahead of the Indian as he began with a 5-1 lead. Prannoy fought back and reduced the deficit 7-8. The young Thai, however entered the interval with a four-point advantage. The Thai continued to dominate against the Indian as he moved to 19-13 lead. An error from Prannoy helped the Thai get to six match points. Another error frollowed from the Indian as Vitidsarn marched into the final.
Follow InsideSport on GOOGLE NEWS / Follow BWF World Championships 2023 LIVE Updates with InsideSport.IN
