Changzhou (China), July 22: India got off on a mixed note in their campaign in the China Open badminton tournament as two of its top male players had contrasting fortunes as the 19th event on the 2025 BWF calendar got off to a rollicking start here on Tuesday.
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.
The world No. 35 Prannoy pulled off a stunning 8-21, 21-16, 23-21 win against the 18th-ranked Watanabe.
However, lady luck was not smiling on Lakshya Sen as he went down to China’s 2022 Asian Games gold medallist Li Shifeng in three games, failing to press home the advantage after winning the first game. Despite winning the first game 21-14 and with a match point at 22-21, Lakshya went down to the fifth-seeded Li 21-14, 22-24, 11-21 in an intense battle that lasted over 67 minutes.
Prannoy vs Watanabe
“This point in my career, every win matters. I’m happy to be back on tour, small breaks happened here and there. The level of playing has gone really high and winning each round is getting tough day by day,” Prannoy said after the win.
“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.
In the opening game of his match, Prannoy, a former top-10 player and bronze medallist at the 2023 World Championships, was never in the contest as Watanabe closed it out with ease. But he bounced back in the second game, forcing a decider with sharper court coverage and better control.
Prannoy trailed 2-11 in the final game before picking up five points in a row to narrow the gap. Still, he found himself staring at defeat at 15-20, with Watanabe holding five match points.
But the Indian showed nerves of steel, saving five match points before taking a slender 21-20 lead and eventually sealing a memorable win.
Lakshya goes down fighting
After Prannoy gave the country’s campaign a great start with a three-game win, the focus was on Lakshya as the second player from the country in the men’s singles draw.
He started well and took an early lead against Li Shi Feng, surging to a 9-5 advantage. The Chinese star fought back to level scores at 9-9. Scores went neck and neck till 12-all before Lakshya opened a 15-12 lead. Though Li Shi Feng brought down the margin to 14-16, the Indian went on to win the game 21-14.
Things turned for the Indian in the second game as the Chinese World No.22 surged to a 10-4 lead. But Lakshya clawed his way back and caught up with him 19-19. Lakshya then won had two match points at 21-20 and 22-21 but could not close out the match.
Other results
Earlier in the women’s singles, India’s Anupama Upadhyaya went down fighting to World No. 22 Lin Hsiang Ti of Chinese Taipei in three games. After winning the first game 23-21, Anupama lost 11-21, 10-21 in the next two games to crash out of the event at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium.
In the women’s doubles, Kavipriya Selvam and Smiran Singh lost to Lauren Lam and Allison Lee 16-21, 14-21.
They were joined on the sidelines by fellow Indians Amrutha Pramuthesh and Sonali Singh, who lost to Hsieh Pei Shan and Hung En-Tzu of Chinese Taipei 12-21, 5-21.
In the mixed doubles, Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde won the first game but lost the next two and ended with a 27-25, 16-21, 14-21 result in the first round.
Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh also fell at the first hurdle, losing 12-21, 17-21. (Agencies)
