HS Prannoy lost to Kunlavut Vitidsarn 21-18, 13-21, 14-21
That’s it for The Field’s coverage of the Badminton World Championships
HS Prannoy becomes the fifth Indian to win a men’s singles World Championships medal. He wins the bronze after a three-game loss in the semi-final to Kunlavut Vitidsarn.
What an impressive run it was from the 31-year-old Indian. He overcame the tough challenge of 2021 world champion Loh Kean Yew 21-18, 15-21, 21-19 in the Round of 16. Then he beat reigning world No 1 and defending champion Viktor Axelsen in front of a partisan Danish crowd 13-21, 21-15, 21-16.
There are many positives to be taken from this event, and it will help Prannoy as he begins preparation for the Asian Games and the Race to Paris Olympic qualification.
Do you feel you had more left in you?
When you’re on the court you feel that you’re done fully, but when you finish off and come out you feel you could have played a little more. Physically I was not able to push through today, the legs were not in great shape.
But I think I was trying hard from inside where I was not letting go easily. Credit to [Vitidsarn], he was putting in shuttles continuously, at a good speed. He wasn’t making any easy errors at any point of the game, especially the third game.
The first part, I think that was crucial and I lost that first half. [Being down] 5-1, 6-1, you can’t be down at that point. I think that’s where I lost the game.
I have to really respect how my body is taking these kind of matches. It’s not easy to play 70 minutes, back to back, for four days. He’s much younger so he’s able to recover much faster. But I’m really happy with the way things went this week.
What does the bronze medal mean?
I think this bronze medal means so much, personally. It’s been almost 12 years on the circuit and you always want to have those big medals in your hand. You’re disappointed for not getting the gold, but I think the starting, first step is getting the bronze. There’s a lot of people who have done a lot of hard work in the last few years. A lot of things came in place this week.
It’s not easy because you’re on the circuit the entire year, you don’t have much time for family and friends. Sometimes it takes a load. So these kind of sweet memories is always good. You feel motivated to go back and work, otherwise it’s really tough to be doing the same whole thing.
— HS Prannoy during his post-match interview at the mixed zone (Courtesy: BWF)
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 21-18, 13-21, 14-21 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): Prannoy hits it wide. His run ends in the semi-final.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 21-18, 13-21, 14-19 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): Match point now for Vitidsarn after another Prannoy shot hits the net.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 21-18, 13-21, 14-19 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): Another big smash from Prannoy. He’s not done just yet, but he has a big deficit to cover first and not much time left.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 21-18, 13-21, 13-19 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): Vitidsarn opens up a six point cushion. He’s been moving Prannoy around the court in the last few points and draw the unforced errors.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 21-18, 13-21, 12-16 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): Brilliant strokeplay from Vitidsarn. Almost casually, with a flick of a wrist, sends Prannoy diving to recover the shuttle but to no avail. A four-point lead opens up again.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 21-18, 13-21, 11-15 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): He may be tiring, but Prannoy’s smashes are still just as devastating.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 21-18, 13-21, 8-14 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): Two tired-looking shots from Prannoy and Vitidsarn now has a 6 point lead.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 21-18, 13-21, 8-12 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): Prannoy plays an excellent, delicate dink at the net to win the point.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 21-18, 13-21, 7-11 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): Brilliant, unbelievable defence from Vitidsarn to win that point after being in an almost impossible position against a hard-hitting Prannoy. The Thai is in a strong position now, taking a four-point lead.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 21-18, 13-21, 7-9 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): Solid backpeddling smash from Vitidsarn to maintain a two-point lead
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 21-18, 13-21, 5-7 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): Big, big down-the-line smash from Prannoy to win the point. The pace has started to increase.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 21-18, 13-21, 4-6 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): Prannoy has started to wrestle back control in this third game. A little more confidence now in his movement.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 21-18, 13-21, 1-5 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): Vitidsarn is continuing on the momentum that won him the second game and he’s taken an early lead in the deciding game. A lot of concerned looks from P Gopichand and RMV Gurusaidutt in Prannoy’s corner.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 21-18, 13-21 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): Vitidsarn, the silver medallist from the last World Championships, overcame a 1-5 deficit to win the second game and level take the match into the decider. Alarming for Indians fans would be the fact that Prannoy played a few tired-looking shots towards the end of the second game.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 21-18, 13-19 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): Vitidsarn has taken control of this game again. He’s got a six point lead now and is two away from levelling proceedings.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 21-18, 13-15 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): Prannoy is clawing his way back into this. Just 2 points in it.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 21-18, 10-14 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): It’s not just big hitting, both players are putting up a solid display of delicate and crafty badminton.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 21-18, 8-13 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): Prannoy finally breaks Vitidsarn’s run of 7 consecutive points with a big cross-court smash.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 21-18, 7-11 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): From being down 2-6, Vitidsarn takes the first game 11-7. There have been a few longer rallies in this game where the Thai player has worked Prannoy diagonally, which seemed to have taken away some steam from the Indian. For the time being.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 21-18, 7-8 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): For the first time in the second game, the Thai player is in the lead.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 21-18, 6-6 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): Vitidsarn has overcome a 6-2 deficit in this game to level proceedings.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 21-18, 3-0 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): Tempo seems to have gone up, and Prannoy has taken an early lead in the second game.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 21-18 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): He does! Prannoy wins the first game, albeit with a little luck off the net-cord on game point.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 20-18 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): Little break in play now as a tournament doctor comes out on court to fix Vitidsarn’s bloody knee. The Thai player has so far saved one game point. Can Prannoy finish it off?
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 19-17 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): The Thai player just won’t go away. He’s chipped his way back into this match – of course, aided by that ill-timed drop in concentration from Prannoy where an easy putaway went straight into the net.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 19-14 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): Prannoy is turning the screws now. If the power of his smashes isn’t enough to break through Vitidsarn’s defence, he’s been quick in his movement to play the next shot and take time away from the Thai player.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 17-11 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): A brief fightback from Vitidsarn, but Prannoy takes control again. He’s in a comfortable position now, just four points away from taking the first game.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 14-7 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): Prannoy is upping the tempo at will, showering a few towering smashes that Vitidsarn seems to have no answers for at the moment.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 11-5 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): Clever point construction from Prannoy to win seven straight points and take a healthy interval lead.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 10-5 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): After a curious break in play, where Prannoy changed his socks, the Indian has taken a solid lead, winning the next five points after play resumed.
Men’s singles semi-final – HS Prannoy (11) 3-3 Kunlavut Vitidsarn (3): Not much between the two in the opening exchanges. Still a long way to go.
AND WE’RE OFF!
Timings update: An Se Young has won her women’s singles semi-final. HS Prannoy’s match will start in a few minutes.
As we wait for Prannoy’s match, here’s an interview from December 2022 where he talked about how he has the game to beat any player on tour. He certainly proved that last night.
HS Prannoy interview – ‘I have the game to beat anybody, need to work on consistency’
Timings update: The women’s singles semi-final between An Se Young and Chen Yu Fei is currently in the second game. Prannoy’s match starts immediately after its conclusion.
Hello and welcome to The Field’s coverage of Indian badminton
HS Prannoy has already secured a first World Championships medal after that heroic win against reigning world No 1 Viktor Axelsen, in front of a partisan Danish crowd in Copenhagen.
A place on the podium is secure, but you can be sure that Prannoy will be gunning for much better. Tonight he takes on Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn, the third seed, for a spot in the final.
Stay tuned to see how the action unfolds.
Screenshots in the blog courtesy Jio Cinema / Tournament Software