HS Prannoy moves up to eighth spot after Asia Championships bronze

This came after a disappointing Commonwealth Games campaign, where Prannoy had lost to England’s Rajiv Ouseph in the individual bronze event. Though India clinched the gold in the mixed team event, Prannoy didn’t play a single game. However, Prannoy has built his performance on some solid displays last year that has seen his ranking going upwards. After winning a Grand Prix Gold in 2017, he followed them by reaching two semi-finals of Super Series and also won his maiden national title. 

He defeated Parupalli Kashyap in the US Open final and also reached the semi-finals of the Indonesia Open Super Series where he bowed out after losing to Japan’s Kazumasa Sakai. Prannoy also became the first Indian to beat the big four - Taufik Hidayat (2013), Lin Dan (2015), Chong Wei (twice in 2017) and Chen Long.