Picture Credit: Twitter
Indian shuttler HS Prannoy has announced that he will be withdrawing from the Badminton Aisa Championship due to a 'small injury' he sustained during the Swiss Open tournament in March. On Twitter, Prannoy posted a note informing that he was looking forward to joining the Indian squad for the Thomas and Uber Cup finals slated for May.
He wrote, "Had to withdraw from Asian Badminton Championships this week because of a small injury in the Swiss Open! I think the best decision was to focus on training and focus on the next set of events! Can't wait to join the rest of the squad for the Thomas cup Finals."
Prannoy reached the quarter-finals of the German Open 2022 that was held in March and finished runner-up in the Swiss Open Super 300 that followed, going down to Jonatan Christie 21-12, 21-18.
However, the 29-year-old had a forgettable outing at the Korea Open Super 500, where he lost to Malayasia's Cheam June Wei 21-17, 21-17 in the opening round. The women's doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy will also be missing the tournament after the latter sustained an injury during BAI selection trials in New Delhi.
The Badminton Asia Championships begin on 26 April in Manila, Philippines, and will run till 1 May. The Thomas and Uber Cup finals are scheduled for 8 May and until 15 May. Besides Prannoy, even the veteran doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy will be giving the Badminton Asia Championships a miss after Sikki Reddy suffered an injury during the BAI Selection Trials in New Delhi.
They will be missing the Uber Cup Finals. In a further blow to women's doubles, the ups and coming women's doubles pair of Gayatri Gopipchand and Treesa Jolly will also not be playing at the Badminton Asia Championship and have withdrawn. Currently, the Badminton Asia Championship squad has Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth and B. Sai Praneeth in the men's single fray, and they will begin their campaign on 26 April.