Japan Open Super 500 badminton: HS Prannoy goes down fighting in intense battle against Chou Tien Chen as Indian challenge ends | Badminton News
India’s top-ranked singles shuttler HS Prannoy went down in three games in an intense Round of 16 clash against former World No 2 Chou Tien Chen at Japan Masters Super 500 in Kumamoto on Thursday.
Prannoy took the opening game but Chou fought back to clinch the match 19-21 21-16 21-19 in 73 minutes. The defeat marked the end of the Indian challenge at the event.
Prannoy, who returned to action after missing a few events post-Asian Games due to a back injury, came into the match trailing 4-6 against Chou in head-to-head record, but had won three of their last five meetings. The matches between these two always tend to be intense, and given their tendency to play three-game contests, another close one was expected. It proved to be exactly that as there was drama, plenty of roaring, and some fabulous rallies all through.
Prannoy took a 11-8 lead into the opening-game interval, a reflex backhand crosscourt winner to a Chou smash being one of the standout moments of the early exchanges. Chou saved a couple of game points but Prannoy held on to take the lead.
The second game saw high-quality, gruelling exchanges but both players were left frustrated with a few line calls. “Don’t you guys think we need HawkEye in every single court for Super 500 events?” Prannoy tweeted after the match.
From 10-10, Chou made his move and forced a decider. The third game saw Chou start strong and open up a 9-3 lead. Then came a moment that left Prannoy even more frustrated as his kill shot at the net was called long but to the naked eye, it looked well in. The Indian went down on his knees after a brief argument with the umpire but since there were no reviews, there wasn’t anything he could do about it.
What he could do after the change of ends was mount a comeback. From 4-12 down at one point, Prannoy kept closing the gap and made it level pegging at 19-19. But Chou held his nerve to close the match out.Most Read
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On Wednesday, Prannoy needed three games to overcome a tricky opponent in Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu. The Indian won that match 22-20, 19-21, 21-17 in 64 minutes. Lee mounted a strong fightback from 7-14 down in the opening game but Prannoy held his nerve to take the lead.
The second game was a close one too but Prannoy recovered well enough to make it a winning comeback to the tour. “Back in the game after a break, relishing a hard-fought win on the court. Missed this feeling more than words can express. There’s truly nothing better than that,” Prannoy had said after that win.
India’s other singles players – Lakshya Sen and Priyanshu Rajawat – had lost in the opening round on Wednesday as had top seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty on Tuesday.
