BWF World Championships: Prannoy HS settles for bronze medal following loss in semifinal
Prannoy HS had to settle for a bronze medal as he registered a loss to Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the semifinals of the ongoing Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships on Saturday.
Prannoy went down to world number three and three-time Junior champion Vitidsarn by 21-18, 13-21, 14-21.
Prannoy and Vitidsarn were neck-to-neck in the first game, but the Indian won the first game easily.
Vitidsarn staged a comeback in the second game. Prannoy fought hard but lost the game by 13-21, setting up an exciting decider.
In the decider, Prannoy was trailing right from the start.
Nonetheless, he continued to fight, but it was not enough to overcome Vitidsarn, who won the third game by 14-21 and secured the match.
«Prannoy wraps up #BWFWorldChampionships with a well deserved bronze medal Proud of you HSP,» tweeted Badminton Association of India (BAI), acknowledging Prannoy's solid run in the tournament.
Prannoy stormed into the semi-final of the BWF World Championships after defeating World Number 2 and the defending champion Viktor Axelsen at Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
With this win, World Number 7 Prannoy assured a bronze medal for India by beating the home favourite Axelsen in three games 21-13, 15-21, 16-21.
This is India's 14th medal at the World Championships. This includes one gold, four silvers and nine bronze medals.
China is the most successful team in the tournament's history, with 196 medals, including 69 gold, 48 silver and 79 silvers.
Prakash Padukone is the first-ever Indian to have won an individual medal at the World Championships.
