HS Prannoy fought valiantly, but India succumbed to a 0-3 defeat against a second-string Japan in the quarterfinals of the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships, ending their campaign on a disappointing note here on Friday. India, the 2023 bronze medalists in Dubai, struggled to find their rhythm, and trailed 0-1 after going down in the mixed doubles. Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, ranked 37th in the world, showed resilience before going down 13-21, 21-17, 13-21 to world number 12 Hiroki Midorikawa and Natsu Saito.

With PV Sindhu sidelined due to a hamstring injury, India faced an uphill task against Tomoka Miyazaki, who has quickly risen to world number 8 following her triumph at the 2022 World Junior Championships.

World number 31 Malvika Bansod, stepping in for Sindhu, put up a brave fight, especially in the second game, but struggled to match the control and consistency of her younger opponent and lost 12-21, 19-21, leaving India 0-2 behind.

It all came down to Prannoy to keep India alive, but despite a determined effort, the 32-year-old, returning after a long break and struggling with early-season form, couldn’t sustain the pressure against world number 16 Kenta Nishimoto.

The Japanese star sealed the rubber with a 21-14, 15-21, 21-12 victory in 1 hour and 17 minutes.

India will be disappointed with the loss, especially as Japan did not field their full-strength team, with several top players absent.

Japan were the inaugural edition champions in 2017 and were runners-up in 2019.

Miyazaki vs Malvika

Miyazaki, leading the new-look Japanese team, was sharp and precise, quickly surging to an 11-3 lead after Malvika hit long.

Despite some good net play from the left-handed Indian, Miyazaki’s cross-court drops and winners kept Malvika on the back foot.

Malvika narrowed the gap to 12-19, capitalising on unforced errors from Miyazaki.

However, two mistakes from the Indian allowed the Japanese to take the first game.

The second game was more competitive as Malvika took a 5-3 lead, engaging in tight rallies.

She managed a slim 11-10 advantage after Miyazaki went long.

Malvika stayed sharp, not allowing her opponent to play her usual drops freely, moving to 17-15.

But Miyazaki fought back, taking the lead at 18-17 after Malvika went wide.

Miyazaki earned two game points, and despite Malvika saving one, a miscue handed the game to the Japanese, leaving India 0-2 down in the tie.

Prannoy vs Nishimoto ================ In the men’s singles, Prannoy fell behind 4-7 as Nishimoto dominated with angled returns.

The Indian clawed back to 8-8 after Nishimoto made a few errors, but two unforced mistakes gave the Japanese a three-point cushion at the break.

Prannoy kept up the pressure, reducing the gap to 12-13 with a couple of jump smashes.

However, there was little net play, and Nishimoto surged ahead 17-12, winning four straight points.

Prannoy handed Nishimoto six game points with a net error, and another mistake sealed the first game for Japan.

The second game was intense, with Prannoy and Nishimoto tied at 6-6.

Two powerful cross-court smashes from Prannoy leveled the score at 7-7, followed by a huge roar and a fist pump.

However, a subsequent smash led to a warning from the umpire, asking Prannoy not to celebrate in such a manner.

Prannoy moved to 10-9 after a brilliant net block, and took a one-point lead into the break.

A cross-court return left Prannoy flat on the floor, and Nishimoto moved to 14-12.

However, the Indian erased the deficit to lead 16-15 after winning a lengthy rally.

He then earned five game points after Nishimoto sent a shot wide, converting the first to roar back into the contest.

In the decider, Nishimoto controlled the pace to take a 6-0 early lead.

At 2-8, a shot was called out by the umpire, much to Prannoy’s frustration as the Japanese grabbed a huge 11-3 lead at the interval.

The Indian fought back, drawing out errors from Nishimoto to move to 12-15 but unforced errors crept up again as a cross court forehand went to net and another net error followed.

Soon he found himself facing an eight-point deficit.

Nishimoto sealed the match after Prannoy went wide again, securing the victory for Japan. 

HS Prannoy’s life and career have been on rough tracks in the last few months, but this period of struggle has made him even more determined to keep working hard, for him the key ingredient in staying at the top echelons of world badminton. ‘ Injuries and health issues such as a chikungunya infection saw him making a pre-quarterfinal exit from the Paris Olympics, before a second round appearance Malaysia Super 1000 earlier this month offered a him sliver of hope.

But wheels came crashing down with a 21-16, 18-21, 12-21 defeat to Su Li Yang of Chinese Taipei in the India Open Super 750 here on Wednesday.

“The last few months were tough, but things are surely getting better. I can see improvement in my game as well. I think it’s going to be a tough challenge for me to consistently play at a high level without breaks,” Prannoy told reporters.

Reflecting on his recovery from chikungunya, Prannoy admitted the road back to full fitness has been difficult.

“Post-Chikungunya, it was really tough to get back to normal. Being on the court probably shows how bad the aftereffects were. I’m around 60-70% in terms of fitness. It was important for me to keep playing in the circuit and stay involved,” he said.

“Malaysia was a decent outing, but I had a few niggles after that, which made today tough. But I’m happy to be back on the circuit. Today I was sluggish, but overall, I’m happy with the way I played. We’re just getting started and focusing on playing well in the circuit,” he added.

The 32-year-old now knows staying in the top-30 will require an immense physical and mental effort, considering the average age of players at the highest levels dropping drastically.

“I do love playing in tournaments. I know being in the top-30 in the world is not going to be easy, especially in men’s singles. It’s physically brutal out there. The average age in the top level has come down to 23-24, so it’s crucial to be physically strong,” said Prannoy.

“It takes a lot of work to be physically ready. For some, it might seem easy to play badminton, but it’s actually a very physically demanding game. The time you need to dedicate to the physical side just to play a three-set match every day is enormous,” he added.

In 2018, Prannoy was diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease, and in 2020, he battled COVID-19.

Despite these setbacks, 2022 and 2023 marked a career resurgence for him, leading India to a historic Thomas Cup win and claiming individual bronze at the Asian Games and World Championships.

However, his world crumbled again early last year with another gastrointestinal disorder, followed by chikungunya just weeks before the Olympics.

“It has been tough but I don’t look back at what has already happened. I focus on getting better and moving forward into the coming months. That’s what I’m looking forward to, and it really doesn’t affect what has happened.

“I’ve accepted that everyone’s journey is different, and mine is different as well. I just need to find the answers to get better. I’m ready to put in the hard work, and no matter what the results are, I’m okay with it,” he noted.

“If I’m working hard, I think somewhere or in some tournament everything will come in place and probably that’s what I’m working hard for.” Prannoy has not been able to train consistently without taking breaks, as lingering pain from chikungunya continues to resurface.

“It’s been up and down in practice sessions, especially after chikungunya. There have been a lot of weird pains coming up randomly during practice, and sometimes I have to back off from the court for a few days to deal with them, then come back and play.” But his motivation remains high.

“I’ve been more motivated in the last six months than I was before. I was really motivated to get back on the circuit and play. I’m always ready for training, and that’s a good sign. But there are going to be bad days when you’re not feeling it. That’s all part of the journey.” But Prannoy has readjusted his sights on short-term goals.

“At this stage in my career, I’m focused more on short-term goals. I’m not looking too far ahead because of what’s happened in the last year. It’s important to keep it short to maintain motivation. When goals are too long-term, you can get mentally dejected if things don’t go your way,” he offered.

“So, I’m focusing on short-term goals, working really hard toward them. With tournaments coming non-stop, we’ll eventually find that good patch, and we’ll have to take advantage of that when it happens.” Prannoy’s next assignment will be in the European circuit, starting with the German Open in late February and looks ahead for brighter days. 

India’s HS Prannoy experienced a frustrating start to the season-opening Malaysia Super 100 badminton tournament as his match against Canada’s Brian Yang was suspended midway due to a leaking roof at the Axiata Arena here on Tuesday. Prannoy, returning to action after the Olympics, was leading 21-12, 6-3 when rainwater began seeping through the roof, forcing play to stop on Court 3 about 25 minutes into the match. After a delay of over an hour, play resumed around 4:15 PM, but the match was halted again as the leak persisted.

Yang was leading 11-9 in the second game when officials decided to suspend the match, which will now resume on Wednesday with the score at 21-12, 9-11.

“Prannoy’s match has been suspended. He will start with the same score tomorrow. A decision regarding other matches will be taken by 8:30 PM,” India coach RMV Gurusaidutt, who was court side, told PTI.

Prannoy had raised the issue with the chair umpire after water started pooling on the left front section of the court. Organisers inspected the area, leading to the suspension.

Matches on Court 2 were also stopped for the same reason, while Court 1 remained operational.

In bizarre scenes, organisers were seen using white towels to dry the courts.

Earlier in the day, India’s women’s doubles duo of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand easily overcame Ornnicha Jongsathapornparn and Sukitta Suwachai, beating the Thai pair in straight games in the opening round.

The Indian pair, seeded sixth here, won 21-10, 21-10 in just 30 minutes to secure a place in the round of 16.

On a high following their success in the Syed Modi International Super 300 tournament in Lucknow, Treesa and Gayatri faced little challenge from the unseeded Thai pair taking a 17-8 lead in no time.

The second game saw the Thai pair go neck-and-neck till 8-all before Treesa and Gayatri ran away with the game and the match. 

File image of HS Prannoy© AFP

India’s top shuttlers including PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy and men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have withdrawn from the upcoming BWF Japan Open, scheduled to commence on August 24. The Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Tuesday confirmed that defending champion Axelsen, fresh from winning his second Olympic Games gold medal, will be among the star attractions in the tournament amid massive pull outs from the tournament that will be first major badminton event after the conclusion of Paris Olympics on Sunday.

Axelsen is one of three defending champions who have entered the tournament – the others are women’s doubles duo Kim So Yeong/Kong Hee Yong and mixed doubles pair Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino.

The other two defending champions: An Se Young and Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin – who also won the Olympic gold recently – will skip the Japan Open.

Lakshya came agonisingly close to winning the bronze medal for India in the Paris Olympics but he came down fighting against Axelsen to miss out the podium finish in the debut quadrennial event.

Apart from the Indian shuttlers, the other prominent withdrawls include Olympic champions Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong, Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik, Chen Yu Fei, and Apriyani Rahayu/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti.

While there have been a number of high-profile withdrawals, the field in all categories has plenty of depth. Shi Yu Qi, Jonatan Christie, Anders Antonsen, Kodai Naraoka and Kunlavut Vitidsarn in men’s singles, and Tai Tzu Ying, Akane Yamaguchi, Wang Zhi Yi and Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in women’s singles are expected to be seen in action.

In men’s doubles, world champions Seo Seung Jae/Kang Min Hyuk will be looking for their first Japan Open title, while in women’s doubles, local hopefuls Chiharu Shida/Nami Matsuyama and Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara will attempt to break the run of Korean success from 2019.

Olympic bronze medallists Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino will look to defend their title, with the field likely to see world champions Seo Seung Jae/Chae Yu Jung, Olympic silver medallists Kim Won Ho/Jeong Na Eun and Indonesia Open winners Jiang Zheng Bang/Wei Ya Xin.

Withdrawals from Japan Open 2024-

Men’s Singles: HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen, Priyanshu Rajawat, Wang Po-Wei, Sameer Verma, Sankar Muthusamy, Oleksii Titov, Riku Hatano, Garret Tan.

Women’s Singles: An Se Young, Pusarla V Sindhu, Chen Yu Fei, He Bing Jiao, Carolina Marin, Eliana Zhang, Asuka Takahashi.

Men’s Doubles: Chirag Shetty/Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik, Arif Junaidi/Roy King Yap, Sai Pratheek/Krishna Prasad Garaga, Julien Maio/William Villeger, Ayush Pattanayak/Abinash Mohanty, Yuichi Shimogami/Takumi Nomura, Mahiro Kaneko/Shunya Ota, William Kryger Boe/Christian Faust Kjaer, Lin Yu Chieh/Chen Zhi Ray, Youcef Sabri Medel/Koceila Mammeri.

Women’s Doubles: Apriyani Rahayu/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti; Rawinda Prajongjai/Jongkolphan Kititharakul; Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand Pullela; Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota; Setyana Mapasa/Angela Yu; Moa Sjoo/Tilda Sjoo; Wen Yu Zhang/Eliana Zhang; Sikki Reddy/Gadde Ruthvika Shivani.

Mixed Doubles: Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong; Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping; Praveen Jordan/Serena Kani; Mathias Christiansen/Alexandra Boje; Julien Maio/Lea Palermo; Oleksii Titov/Yevheniia Kantemeyr; Yuichi Shimogami/Sayaka Hobara; Kevin Lee/Eliana Zhang; Rinov Rivaldy/Pitha Haningtyas Mentari; Roy King Yap/Valeree Siow; Chen Zhi Ray/Yang Ching Tun; Koceila Mammeri/Tanina Violette Mammeri.

Lakshya vs Prannoy Live Streaming RO16 Olympics: When And Where To Watch© AFP

Paris Olympic Games Live: A Look At India’s Schedule Today

Here’s how India’s schedule looks like on Day 6 of Paris Olympics:

11am- Athletics – Men’s 20km Race Walk Final- Akshdeep Singh, Vikas Singh, Paramjeet Bisht

12:30pm- Golf – Men’s Round 1- Gaganjeet Bhullar, Shubhankar Sharma

12:50pm- Athletics – Women’s 20km Race Walk- Priyanka Goswami

1pm- Shooting – 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men’s Final- Swapnil Kusale

1:30pm- Hockey – Men’s Group B – India v Belgium

2:30pm- Boxing – Women’s 50kg Round of 16- Nikhat Zareen vs Wu Yu (China)

2:31pm- Archery – Men’s Individual 1/32- Pravin Jadhav vs Kao Wenchao (China)

3:10pm – Archery – Men’s Individual 1/16- Pravin Jadhav (Subject to qualification)

3:30pm- Shooting – 50m Rifle 3 Positions Women’s Qualification- Sift Kaur Samra, Anjum Moudgil

3:45pm onwards- Sailing – Men’s Dinghy Race 1-2- Vishnu Saravanan

4:30pm- Badminton – Men’s Doubles Quarterfinals- Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/ Chirag Shetty vs Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik (Malaysia)

Not before 5:40pm- Badminton – Men’s Singles Round of 16- Lakshya Sen vs HS Prannoy

7:05pm- Sailing – Women’s Dinghy Race 1-2- Nethra Kumanan

10pm – Badminton – Women’s Singles Round of 16- PV Sindhu vs He Bing Jiao (China)

India’s HS Prannoy staved off a spirited challenge from Vietnam’s Le Duc Phat in the final group match to advance to the men’s singles pre-quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics in Paris on Wednesday. The 32-year-old from Kerala, who had recovered from a bout of chikungunya to compete in his maiden Olympics, squandered the opening game but got his acts together in time to notch up a 16-21 21-11 21-12 over the world number 70 Le in a hard-fought 62-minute battle.

A world championships and Asian Games bronze medallist, Prannoy will next face Lakshya Sen in an all-Indian pre-quarterfinal clash.

World No 13 Prannoy looked a bit tired and a tad rusty as he couldn’t control the proceedings early on.

Le dominated the rallies and in fact held the lead at 8-7 after close initial duel. A precise shot at the corner gave the Vietnamese a crucial two point lead.

Le used his jump smashes to trouble Prannoy, who couldn’t play his game and fell 11-15 behind after the break. The Indian found the groove in time to make it 15-16 with an aggressive push at the back.

The Vietnamese moved up to 18-15 lead after punishing a weak backhand from Prannoy and then unleashed another jump smash on his opponent forehand to inch closer to the opening game.

Prannoy went long to hand four game points to Le, who shut the game when the Indian sprayed into the net.

After the change of sides, Prannoy opened up a 4-0 lead but Le slowly stepped up the pressure and narrowed it down to 7-8 when the Indian went to net.

Prannoy went into the break with a 11-7 cushion after producing a tight net shot.

The Indian looked calm and in control as he quickly wrapped up the game to take the match to the decider.

In the third game, Prannoy moved to 6-4 before the two played an aggressive flat exchange which ended with the Indian going wide. Le drew parity at 7-7 after an attacking return on the Indian’s backhand.

Prannoy managed to grab 11-8 lead after winning an aggressive flat exchange. The Indian stamped his class thereafter while Le couldn’t get his attack going, as soon it was 18-11 in a jiffy.

The Indian quickly closed out the match when Le found the net again.

Prannoy had defeated Germany’s Fabian Roth in the opening group match.

Paris Olympics 2024 Live: How Does India’s Schedule Look Like Today?

A look at Team India’s schedule in Paris Olympics today:

12:30 pm- Shooting – 50m Rifle 3 Pos. Men’s Qualification- Aishwary Tomar, Swapnil Kusale

12:30pm- Shooting- Trap Women’s Qualification Day 2- Rajeshwari Kumari, Shreyasi Singh

Not before 12:50pm- Badminton -Women’s Singles Group Stage- P V Sindhu vs Kristin Kuuba (Estonia)

1:24pm- Rowing- Men’s Single Sculls Semifinals C/D 1- Balraj Panwar

1:30pm- Equestrian- Dressage Individual- Anush Agarwalla

Not before 1:40pm- Badminton -Men’s Singles Group Stage- Lakshya Sen vs Jonatan Christie (Indonesia)

2:30pm- Table Tennis -Women’s Singles Round of 32- Sreeja Akula vs Jiang Zeng (Singapore)

3:34pm- Boxing – Women’s 75kg Preliminary Round- Lovlina Borgohain vs Sunniva Hofstad (Norway)

3:56pm- Archery- Women’s Individual 1/32 Elimination Round- Deepika Kumari vs Reena Parnat (Estonia)

4:35pm- Archery- Women’s Individual 1/16 Elimination Round- Deepika Kumari(Subject to qualification)

7pm- Shooting – Women’s Trap Final- Rajeshwari Kumari, Shreyasi Singh (Subject to qualification)

8:30pm – Table Tennis -Women’s Singles Round of 16- Manika Batra vs TBD

8:30pm onwards- Table Tennis -Women’s Singles Round of 16- Sreeja Akula (Subject to qualification)

9:15pm-Archery- Men’s Individual 1/32 Elimination Round- Tarundeep Rai vs Tom Hall (Great Britain)

10:07pm-Archery- Men’s Individual 1/16 Elimination Round- Tarundeep Rai (Subject to qualification)

11:00pm- Badminton- Men’s Singles Group Stage- H S Prannoy vs Le Duc Phat (Vietnam)

00:34am- Boxing – Men’s 71kg Round of 16- Nishant Dev vs Jose Gabriel Rodriguez Tenorio (Ecuador)

Badminton legend and ace shuttler PV Sindhu’s mentor, Prakash Padukone believes that India have a strong chance of bagging three medals in badminton in the Paris Olympics including a hat-trick of medals for Sindhu. India has sent a seven-member badminton squad including the high-flying men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and double Olympic medallist Sindhu. Padukone said Sindhu is faring well for her historic third consecutive Olympic medal in Paris.

“That’s what we are trying and hoping for. She has worked incredibly hard for that. However, at this level, one cannot commit for sure. Her preparations have gone well, and she is playing well in practice sessions. So, in terms of preparations, everything has been very good,” he told JioCinema.

The veteran shuttler, a former All-England champion and World’s top player in his heydays elaborated that he is focusing on improving Sindhu’s tactics and strategy on the court and she has also improved a lot under his guidance.

“I am focusing on tactics and strategy on the court, on what strokes to use when, and a little to do with the mind. About nine months ago, she was a little low on confidence due to frequent coaching changes and not being able to identify what was going wrong.

“We’ve worked on her mental strength and strategy, ensuring she makes better use of the right strokes. We’ve tried to cut down on mistakes and playing percentage badminton — knowing when to attack, defend, and play safe. So it is finally all coming through, but it is yet to be found out whether she can reproduce that form during the Olympics,” said Padukone, who runs the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bengaluru.

Despite Sindhu failing to win any title so far this year, Padukone feels that her ability to shine in crunch situations will help India’s most successful woman sportspersons at the Olympics bring the best out of her. Sindhu is the only Indian woman sportsperson to win two Olympic medals, a silver at Rio in 2016 and a bronze in Tokyo.

“Definitely, she has not been at her best recently, this might reduce the pressure on her. Expectations are lower, and even reaching the quarterfinals will be seen positively. But I am looking beyond that. If she is able to reproduce the form, like what she’s doing in practice, I think she’ll do better than in past tournaments.

“The difference between players at the top is so little and it is also about handling pressure in the Olympics, and Sindhu has an advantage as she has won two Olympic medals. We keep reminding her to focus on her game, and the result will be good,” he said.

In the end, Padukone picked Rankireddy and Shetty in the men’s doubles, Sindhu in women’s singles and Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy in men’s singles as possible medal contenders.

“We have a chance in all three events: men’s singles, women’s singles and men’s doubles. The men’s doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have been very consistent and have beaten top players. They also have a fairly good draw.

“Lakshya Sen has a tough group, but he has previously beaten his group opponents Jonatan Christie, Kevin Cordon and Julien Carraggi so it depends on his current form. It’s his first Olympics, but he shouldn’t be worrying about that and consider this as any other tournament. HS Prannoy has not been in the best form, but sometimes it could be a blessing in disguise as there is little weight of expectations and you might reach the peak now, it can go both ways.

“We are definitely contenders in these three events. Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto in women’s doubles have a challenging draw, but if they can qualify further, that will be icing on the cake,” he concluded.

Badminton matches at the Paris Olympics will begin on Saturday (July 27).