HS Prannoy crashed out of the Men’s Singles event of Singapore Open 2022, after losing his match to Kodai Naraoka of Japan. Prannoy lost 21-12, 14-21, 18-21as the Japanese came from a set down to stun the Indian, and in the process, brought an end to Indian contention for the title in the Men’s Singles event.
Prannoy was coming into the quarter-final with great momentum as he had lost just two of his previous nine matches and it looked like he will make it ten matches with just two defeats after he won the first game convincingly (21-12). But a strong fightback from Naraoka tested Prannoy’s endurance and the Indian succumbed under pressure as the Japanese made a memorable comeback to knock Prannoy out.
Elsewhere, India suffered another setback as a veteran and 2012 London Olympics Bronze medallist, Saina Nehwal also bowed out of the tournament in the Women’s Singles event at the hands of Aya Ohori in a three-set thriller. Saina lost to the Japanese 13-21, 21-15, 20-22 as her exit comes in as a big shock to Indian badminton fans.
Also, MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila were handed a defeat at the hands of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in the quarter-finals of the Men’s Double event of the Singapore Open 2022. Arjun and Dhruv lost to the Indonesian pair 21-10, 18-21, 17-21 in a closely-contested match.
PV Sindhu is the sole Indian contender alive in the tournament. She next faces Saena Kawakami in the semi-finals of the Women’s Singles event of the Singapore Open 2022.