World No. 35 Prannoy shocks No. 18 Watanabe in first round

HS Prannoy

Indian shuttler HS Prannoy saved five match points and clawed his way back from a game down to beat Japan's Koki Watanabe in the opening round of the China Open Super 1000 badminton tournament here on Tuesday.

World No. 35 Prannoy pulled off a stunning 8-21, 21-16, 23-21 victory against the 18th-ranked Watanabe, and admitted after the match that he's savouring every win as his career winds down.

"At this point in my career, every win matters. The level of playing is really high now and winning each round has gotten tougher," Prannoy,
33, said.

"The average age has become 22-23 in the men's singles all of a sudden. Lot of fresh faces and you don't really know what their game is. So, it's tough to be a veteran out there," he added.

Meanwhile, Lakshya Sen (World No. 19), crashed out of the tournament in the first round following a 21-14, 22-24, 11-21 loss to China's World No. 5 Li Shi Feng.

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