Star Indian shuttler HS Prannoy has been forced to withdraw from the Denmark Open Super 750 and the French Open due to a back injury that he battled through during his recent bronze medal-winning performance at the Asian Games. Prannoy, who secured India’s first men’s singles medal in 41 years at Hangzhou, will need to rest and undergo rehabilitation for two to three weeks as a result of the injury. This setback comes as a disappointment for the Indian badminton community.
Speaking about his injury, Prannoy stated, “We are not looking at playing any tournament this month. Something also came up in the MRI as well, so I will have to be out for 2-3 weeks, so I will not be able to play Denmark and France. I will need to rest and then start with rehab.”
With Prannoy’s absence, the charge for India at these tournaments will be led by young shuttler Lakshya Sen. Sen played a pivotal role in India’s historic silver medal win in the men’s team event at the Asian Games. He is now set to compete at the Denmark Open and is expected to face Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen in his opening match.
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, who reached the semifinals at the Arctic Open last week, will also be participating in the Denmark Open. She is scheduled to face Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour.
Kidambi Srikanth, currently ranked World No. 20 and aiming to accumulate ranking points for the Paris Olympics, will play against China’s Weng Hong Yang in the opening game. Srikanth has had an inconsistent season so far.
In addition to Prannoy, MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila will also miss the tournaments. The women’s pairing of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will make a comeback after their performance at the Asian Games, and they are set to compete against Thailand’s Benyapa Aimsaard and Nuntakarn Aimsaard. This unfortunate injury-related withdrawal serves as a reminder of the physical demands of professional badminton and the determination required to overcome such challenges.
