Ace shuttler HS Prannoy clinched his first bronze medal at the World Championships on Saturday. Prannoy lost to world number 3 Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the men’s singles semifinal to settle for a draw. Prannoy won the first game but the Thailand’s shuttler bounced back to win the next two to emerge victorious.
Prannoy controlled the semifinal in the initial phase by winning first game 21-18, he was also at the lead at the start of second game with 5-1 lead but he failed to continue his domination and ended up on the losing side.
Vitidsarn registered an 18-21 21-13 21-14 win to seal a second successive final spot.
Meanwhile, Prannoy became the fifth Indian men’s singles player to clinch a medal at the World Championships.
He joined the likes of Kidambi Srikanth (silver), Lakshya Sen (bronze), B Sai Praneeth (bronze) and Prakash Padukone (bronze) in the elite list.
The fans on social media hailed Prannoy for his big achievement in the World Championships.
5th Indian to win BWF Championship medal, H.S Prannoy joins elite club after bragging bronze by defeating Viktor Axelsen who is a Tokyo Olympic and 2022 BWF Gold medalist, Prannoy did almost impossible yesterday. #bwfc #BWFWorldChampionships2023 #BWFWorldChampionships pic.twitter.com/BtvIIXV3SQ— Kartik Wamdev (@kartikwamdev) August 26, 2023
3rd consecutive quartersDefeated 2021 WCH in Pre quartersDefeated top seed and reigning World Champion In QuarterPrannoy never got the easy wayAnd now he has shown he doesn’t need the easy way, he will run through the stones ,storms and win
A beautiful story of Persistence pic.twitter.com/RtKrbPkbr3
— Shivendu Chaudhary (@shivendu_MSD07) August 26, 2023
On three consecutive days PRANNOY has shown the resilience, character and will of a ChampionThe Fighter story
We all wanted a final, but honestly as a Fan I have no complaints
PRANNOY pic.twitter.com/0c77A3rBNQ
— Shivendu Chaudhary (@shivendu_MSD07) August 26, 2023
That was a tough road for Prannoy till the semifinals. No doubt he gave his best but eventually fatigue got the better of him. He slowed down drastically which he can’t afford against a youngblood like kunlavut. Congratulations on your well deserved bronze medal!❤️@PRANNOYHSPRI— nv (@lavenderskyzz) August 26, 2023
A day after knocking out Olympic gold medallist and defending champion Viktor Axelsen, ninth-seeded Prannoy, who claimed Malaysia Masters title and a runner-up finish at Australian Open this season, failed to find his best as his defence looked shaky and attack lacked consistency during the 76-minute clash.
Prannoy had lost to Vitidsarn in two tight games at the All England Championships last year and knew about the Thai’s defensive prowess and ability to retrieve.
Earlier in the quarterfinals, In a nail-biter, Prannoy once again showed his big-match temperament as he fought back from a game down to outwit the world No. 1 one Axelsen 13-21 21-15 21-16 in-front of his home crowd at the Roal Arena.
