Credit: Twitter
On August 26, Saturday, the world number nine from India, HS Prannoy, lost the semi-final of the BWF World Championship 2023 men’s singles competition, against the third seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in three pulsating games by 18-21, 21-13, 21-14 . The 31-year-old had registered a famous win against the defending champion and the home favourite Viktor Axelsen in the quarter-final, after three gruelling games in Copenhagen, Denmark, to secure a medal for his country.
Notably, the highly anticipated semi-final started with both Prannoy and Vitidsarn exchanging points till 5-5, before the Indian shuttler took the initiative to make the scoreline 11-5 in his favour at the break. The world number three player made a great comeback to get within two points of his compatriot, before losing the game with a margin of 21-18.
HS Prannoy began game two of the semi-final on fire, winning four straight points in the beginning, before Kunlavut Vitidsarn made the scoreline 7-7. Then, the Thai shuttler took the ascendancy, leading his opponent by 13-7 in the middle stages of game two, before winning it by 21-13 in a comfortable manner.
The final game of the semi-final had Prannoy struggling for answers against Vitidsarn in the early stages, who was playing calm and composed badminton, to take 11-7 lead at the break. The Indian shuttler tried to stage a comeback of sorts in the latter stages, but in the end, he lost the final game with a margin of 21-14.
Moreover, the second semi-final of the BWF World Championship 2023 men’s singles will be played between Kodai Naraoka of Japan and Anders Antonsen from Denmark, to determine the opponent for Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the grand finale. The world number three player had reached the final of this prestigious tournament in 2022, losing to Viktor Axelsen in a one-sided contest..
