Prannoy Kumar

H.S. Prannoy
Personal information
Birth name	Prannoy Haseena Sunil Kumar
Country	India
Born	(1992-07-17) July 17, 1992 Delhi, India
Residence	Thiruvananthapuram
Height	5’ 9”
Handedness	Right
Coach	Pullela Gopichand
Men's Singles
Highest ranking	12 (10 September 2015)
Current ranking	27 (1 november 2016[1])
Medal record Representing  India Men's Badminton South Asian Games 2016 Guwahati Men's Team 2016 Guwahati Men's Singles Youth Olympic Games 2010 Singapore Boys' Singles
BWF profile

Prannoy Haseena Sunil Kumar also known as HS Prannoy was born on July 17, 1992. He is an Indian badminton player and currently trains at the Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad.^[2] Prannoy originally hails from Thiruvananthapuram and is the Indian number 2 (as of 2 April 2015) in badminton^[3] Prannoy is supported by the GoSports Foundation, Bangalore and has been part of their scholarship programme since 2011.

Career

Early career

Prannoy came to prominence after winning the silver medal in Boys' singles at 2010 Summer Youth Olympics.^[4] He didn't stop there and followed it up with another silver, this time at the Bahrain International Challenge, 2011.^[5] Struggling for form and injuries a bit of a barren spell followed Prannoy following these achievements.

2013

In 2013, he managed to reach the final of the Tata Open International Challenge in Mumbai, eventually losing to fellow GoSports Foundation athlete Sourabh Verma in the final.

2014

In 2014, he claimed two All India Senior National Ranking Championships: Manorama Indian Open All India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament, Kerala^[6] and the V.V.Natu Memorial All India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament, Pune.^[7] However it was his exploits at the international circuit that caught everyone's attention. He was a semi-finalist at the 2014 India Open Grand Prix Gold,^[8] Bitburger Open Grand Prix Gold,^[9]2014 Macau Open Grand Prix Gold and the Sri Lanka Open International Badminton Challenge in Colombo^[10]

Prannoy surprised one and all by reaching the final of the 2014 Vietnam Open Grand Prix where he lost to number one seed and tournament favourite Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka of Indonesia.^[11] In the very next tournament, the Indonesia Open Grand Prix Gold Prannoy went one better, this time beating local favourite Firman Abdul Kholik of Indonesia in straight sets.^[12] Prannoy managed to end the year as the third highest ranked Indian at 21.

2015

HS Prannoy started off the year on a good note reaching the semifinals of the 2015 India Open Grand Prix Gold. He put up a spirited performance in the Semi's before bowing out to India's Srikanth Kidambiin 3 sets. Prannoy's greatest victory came in the Pre-Quarters of 2015 India Super Series when he beat an in form world number 2 Jan Ø. Jørgensen in 3 sets. This was probably his best performance so far earning him a lot of praise from all quarters. Prannoy played his heart out in the Quarter Finals too but ultimately Viktor Axelsen proved to be too good for him.

2016

HS Prannoy started 2016 on a good note by beating the German ace Marc Zwiebler in the finals of the Swiss Open Grand Prix gold by 21-19,21-15

Career titles & runners-up

Individual titles (3)

S.no	Year	Tournament	Opponent in final	Score
1	2014	Indonesian Masters	Firman Abdul Kholik	21–11, 22–20
2	2014	Tata Open	Gurusai Dutt	21–16, 20–22, 21–17[13]
3	2016	Swiss Open	Marc Zwiebler	21–18, 21–15

     Grand Prix Gold

     International Challenge

Individual runners-up (4)

S.no	Year	Tournament	Opponent in final	Score
1	2011	Bahrain International	Sourabh Varma	23–25, 12–21[14]
2	2013	Tata Open	Sourabh Varma	12–21, 17–21[15]
3	2014	Vietnam Open	D. H. Rumbaka	21–18, 15–21, 18–21
4	2016	South Asian Games	Srikanth Kidambi	21–11, 14–21, 6–21[16]

     Grand Prix

     International Challenge

Record against selected opponents

Includes results against Olympic quarterfinals, Worlds semifinalists, and Super Series finalists, as well as all Olympic opponents.^[17]

References