The Indian contingent got off to a great start at the Singapore Open 750, with Star Indian shuttler HS Prannoy delivering the performance of the day. In a composed and resilient performance, Prannoy secured a stunning three-game victory handing one of the tournament favourites, World No.5 Jonatan Christie of Indonesia a defeat.
The 33-year-old, a 2023 World Championships and Asian Games bronze medallist, defeated the world No. 5 in just over an hour. This crucial win marks Prannoy's first victory over Christie in five years, breaking a drought dating back to the 2021 Indonesia Open and improving his previous 3-7 head-to-head record against the Indonesian star.
Coming into the match, Prannoy found himself backed into a corner early on. In the opening game, Christie jumped to an 11-5 lead at the break and surged to 16-9 before comfortably taking the lead with a 10-21 finish.
However, Prannoy gathered himself quickly after the change of sides. He established an 11-7 advantage at the interval of the second game, gave Christie zero room to recover, and roared back to level the contest with a commanding 21-12 win.
The decider was a rollercoaster battle for supremacy. Christie initially led 6-3, but Prannoy flipped the momentum to lead 13-11. Late in the game, Christie grabbed a dangerous 18-16 lead, but Prannoy showed incredible grit to win the final five points consecutively, sealing the match 21-18.
Prannoy, who previously played epic roles in India's 2022 Thomas Cup triumph and their recent bronze medal win in Denmark, will face Singapore's former world champion Loh Kean Yew in the second round.
While Prannoy advanced, it was a mixed day for the rest of the Indian contingent competing in Singapore.
In mixed doubles action, the pairing of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto successfully progressed to the second round. They defeated Malaysia's Wong Tien Ci and Lim Chiew Sien in a hard-fought three-game match, winning 21-14, 20-22, 21-13.
On the singles front, former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth fought his heart out but ultimately succumbed to local hero Loh Kean Yew with a score of 20-22, 21-19, 17-21, allowing the Singaporean to avenge his loss to Srikanth from the previous week. Similarly, Malvika Bansod, currently on a comeback trail following an ACL injury, put up a brave effort but could not go the distance against Chinese Taipei's Lin Hsiang Ti, losing her opening match 21-11, 19-21, 12-21.
Shaunak Ghosh is a Senior Sports Correspondent at Timesnownews with over seven years of experience in print and digital journalism. He holds a postgra...View More
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