HS Prannoy enters the quarterfinals, Saina crashes out of BWF World Championships 2022

The tournament is heading into the business end for the current edition.

The 2022 BWF World Championships are in full swing. The city of Tokyo in Japan is hosting this prestigious event that sees top badminton athletes from across the globe. Thursday’s action saw several high-profile players in action in their respective brackets.

There was an all-Indian clash in store which saw Prannoy H.S. get the better of Lakshya Sen in an excellent contest. He came into the fixture by upsetting Kenta Momota of Japan in the previous round and made a statement by defeating the reigning 2022 CWG gold medallist.

There was disappointment for Saina Nehwal as she lost her fixture and got eliminated from the tournament. There were many other notable results from the day. Here is a roundup of Thursday’s results from the 2022 BWF World Championships:

Men’s Singles

Lakshya Sen and Prannoy H.S. were involved in an electric all-Indian clash on Thursday. The latter came on top by winning the tie thanks to a 17-21, 21-16, 21-17 score against the 2022 CWG gold medallist. Top seed Victor Axelsen also won his tie by 21-19, 21-16 against Sitthikom Thammasin of Thailand. 

Chou Tien-Chen was also amongst the winners as he went past Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong by 21-16, 17-21, 21-18 in one hour and 11 minutes. Fifth seed Zii Jia Li was at the receiving end of a shock defeat as he lost by 21-19, 11-21, 21-19 to China’s Zhao Junpeng who will face Prannoy in the quarter-final.

Women’s Singles

India’s challenge in the Women’s Singles came to an end after Saina Nehwal lost her match on Thursday. The former World No.1 came up against Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan and lost by 21-17, 16-21, 21-13 in three gruelling games. Top seed and tournament favourite Akane Yamaguchi won her contest by 21-18 21-7 against compatriot Sayaka Takahashi.

Third seed An Se-young sailed into the next round following a 21-12, 21-10 win over Beiwen Zhang of Malaysia. Fifth seed Carolina Marin of Spain won her match too, as she beat He Bingjiao of China by a 16-21, 21-15, 22-20 score in one hour and 16 minutes.

Men’s Doubles

Both Indian pairs won their respective matches in the Men’s Doubles bracket. Dhruv Kapila and M.R. Arjun beat Singapore’s Yong Hee and Kean Loh by 18-21, 21-15, 21-16. On the other hand, the 2022 CWG gold medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won by 21-12 21-10 against Jeppe Bay and Lasse Molhede of Denmark.

The top seeds in this category, Marcus Gideon and Kevin Sukamuljo were knocked out by the English pair of Ben Lane and Sean Vendy. They were beaten by the 2022 CWG silver medallists by 21-15, 21-9.

Women’s Doubles

While the Indian challenge is over in Women’s Doubles, there were exciting matches on the day in the category nonetheless. Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan, the third seeds, won by 21-13 21-16 against Vivian Hoo and Chiew Lim of Malaysia. Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan, who are the top seeds also recorded a comfortable win by a 21-15 21-9 score against Denmark Maiken Fruergaard and Saara Thygesen.

Mixed Doubles

Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue lost to lower seeded pair of Soon Goh and Shevon Lai by 21-16, 21-4. Top-seeded Chinese pair of Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong sailed into the quarter-final after a tough win by a 21-9, 19-21, 21-19 score against Supak Jomkoh and Supissara Paewsampran of Thailand. 

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