India’s star shuttler HS Prannoy got defeated by Olympic Champion and World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen in a nail-biting quarter-final clash in Japan Open 2023. The World No. 10 shuttler went down by 19-21, 21-18, 21-8 in the round of 16 at the Super 750 badminton tournament. Prannoy got off to a slow start in the first round and trailed his opponent 17-12.
After losing the first game, The Indian came stronger in the second round and turned the tables on Dane as he took lead 21-18 and forced a deciding round.
However, Viktor put up a brilliant game in the final round, and took a huge lead in the decider, leaving the Indian shuttler speechless. Axelsen opted for long rallies to tire out, leaving the Indian tired, and the pair traded points at 5-5. The World Number 1 soon took next six points to take the score 11-5 against Prannoy. The reigning champion ended up clinching victory 8-21 in the quarterfinal round. Notably, the results of Japan Open will count towards the players' qualification rankings for the Paris Olympic 2024.
Meanwhile, in the semifinal clash, Axelsen will face Kodai Naraoka of Japan.
