HS Prannoy out of All England C’ships in Rd 1

On a comeback trail, Prannoy, a bronze medallist at the 2023 World Championships and Asian Games, fought for 53 minutes before going down 19-21, 16-21 to Popov, who is currently ranked 17th in the world

India’s HS Prannoy bowed out of the All England Championships on Tuesday, suffering a straight-game defeat to France’s Toma Junior Popov in the men’s singles opening round.

On a comeback trail, Prannoy, a bronze medallist at the 2023 World Championships and Asian Games, fought for 53 minutes before going down 19-21, 16-21 to Popov, who is currently ranked 17th in the world.

Also Read: ‘It was unjust on our wrestlers’

The 32-year-old, ranked 29th, had his chances in the opening game, leading 6-1 and 15-12, but faltered in the face of the relentless pressure of Popov, who turned the game around from 16-18 to 19-18 before taking the lead.

Popov thereafter grew in confidence after the change of ends. he quickly  moved  from 5-3 to 13-9. Prannoy fought back to level at 13-13, but Popov surged ahead as the Indian crumbled.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!