Jayce
At 31 years old, Indian veteran Prannoy H.S. (also known as Prannoy Kumar) is experiencing the peak of his career. This week, he reached the semifinals of the India Open for the first time.
Born in 1992, Prannoy might seem like a late bloomer, but he actually made his mark early, achieving third place at the 2010 World Junior Championships and second place at the Youth Olympic Games. However, due to injuries, while Srikanth Kidambi rose to fame, becoming the world number one and India’s top badminton player, Prannoy remained in the background. Fans say, “King Prannoy does not spare unknown opponents!” because back in the 2013 India Open, he became famous by defeating the legendary Taufik Hidayat.
Prannoy has also defeated top players like Lin Dan three times: at the 2015 French Open, the 2018 Indonesia Open, and the 2019 World Championships. In 2017, he defeated Lee Chong Wei at both the Indonesia Open and the Denmark Open. He also beat Chen Long at the 2017 Indonesia Open, Kento Momota at the 2022 World Championships, and Viktor Axelsen at the 2023 World Championships.
Despite these significant victories, Prannoy often ended up making way for others, struggling to win titles or even reach finals himself.
In the 2023 season, Prannoy achieved his first Super 500 title at the Malaysia Masters and earned bronze medals in both the World Championships and the Asian Games men’s singles, becoming India’s standout men’s singles player, even surpassing former top player Srikanth and young talent Lakshya Sen.
Danish coach Jonatan, who has trained stars like Viktor Axelsen and Anders Antonsen, believes the mature and experienced Prannoy is at the peak of his career and could be a dark horse at this year’s Olympics. “I think he is definitely a dark horse for this year’s Olympics. Over the past year, Prannoy has shown excellent offense and defense, strong physical fitness, and great confidence on the court.”
Jonatan added that Prannoy might not be seen as a favorite for the Olympic gold, but if he plays his best, he can beat anyone.
Currently, Prannoy is ranked 9th in Olympic qualification points, making him the highest-ranked Indian men’s singles player and virtually securing his Olympic spot. Lakshya Sen is ranked 19th, and Srikanth Kidambi is 22nd, trailing Prannoy by nearly 20,000 points.
