Prannoy Haseena Sunil Kumar (born 17 July 1992), also known as H. S. Prannoy, is an Indian

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

player who currently trains at the

Gopichand Badminton Academy Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy (PGBA) is a badminton training facility in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Founded in 2008 by the 2001 All England Open Badminton Champion, Pullela Gopichand, the facility trains several badminton players such ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

. Prannoy originally hails from

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

and has a career-high

world ranking A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of ...

of number 8, which he attained in June 2018. He studied at Kendriya Vidyalaya Akkulam.

Career

Early career

Prannoy came to prominence after winning the silver medal in Boys' singles at the

2010 Summer Youth Olympics The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics ( ta, 2010 கோடைக்கால இளையோர் ஒலிம்பிக் விளையாட்டுக்கள் ms, Sukan Olimpik Belia Musim Panas 2010), officially known as the I Summer ...

. He followed it up with another silver, this time at the Bahrain International Challenge, in 2011. However, as he struggled for form and injuries, Prannoy endured a somewhat barren spell following these achievements.

2013

In 2013, Prannoy managed to reach the final of the Tata Open International Challenge in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, eventually losing to compatriot

Sourabh Verma Sourabh Verma (born 30 December 1992) is an Indian badminton player. He is a three time men's singles title Champion at the Indian National Championships. Verma reached a career high world ranking of no. 28 in December 2019. Career overview S ...

in the final.

2014

In 2014, Prannoy claimed two All India Senior National Ranking Championships: Manorama Indian Open All India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament,

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

and the V. V. Natu Memorial All India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament,

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

. However, it was his exploits on the international circuit that caught everyone's attention. He was a semi-finalist at the

2014 India Open Grand Prix Gold The 2014 India Grand Prix Gold was the first tournament of the 2014 BWF Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix. The tournament was held in Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium, Lucknow, India from 21 January until 26 January 2014 and had a total purse of ...

, Bitburger Open Grand Prix Gold, 2014 Macau Open Grand Prix Gold and the Sri Lanka Open International Badminton Challenge in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

. Prannoy surprised one and all by reaching the final of the 2014 Vietnam Open Grand Prix where he lost to top seed and tournament favourite

Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka (born 22 October 1988) is a retired Indonesian badminton player. He is a men's singles specialist from PB. Djarum, a badminton club in Kudus, Central Java and has joined the club since 2005. He retired in 2018 due to lo ...

of Indonesia. In the very next tournament, the Indonesia Open Grand Prix Gold, Prannoy went one better, this time beating local favourite

Firman Abdul Kholik Firman Abdul Kholik (born 11 August 1997) is an Indonesian badminton player who is a singles specialist. He is better known when helping Indonesia win the 2018 Asia Team Championships. Kholik also took part as Indonesia winning team in 2015, 20 ...

of Indonesia in straight sets. He managed to end the year as the third-highest ranked Indian at World no. 21.

2015

Prannoy started off the year on a good note reaching the semifinals of the

2015 India Open Grand Prix Gold The 2015 India Open Grand Prix Gold, Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold was the second grand prix gold and grand prix tournament of the 2015 BWF Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix. The tournament was held in Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium, L ...

. He put up a spirited performance in the semifinals before bowing out to compatriot

Srikanth Kidambi Srikanth Kidambi (born 7 February 1993) is an Indian badminton player. A former world no. 1, Kidambi was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, in 2018. and the Arjuna award in 2015. In 2021, he became the first Indian t ...

in 3 sets. His greatest victory came in the pre-quarters of the

2015 India Super Series The 2015 India Super Series was the second super series tournament of the 2015 BWF Super Series. The tournament took place in Siri Fort Sports Complex, New Delhi, India from 24–29 March 2015 and had a total purse of $275,000. A qualification ...

, when he beat an in-form world number 2 Jan Ø. Jørgensen in 3 sets. He played his heart out in the quarter-finals as well, but ultimately suffered defeat to Denmark's

Viktor Axelsen Viktor Axelsen (born 4 January 1994) is a Danish badminton player. He is the 2017 and 2022 World champion and the 2020 Olympic champion. He won the 2010 World Junior Championships, beating South Korea's Kang Ji-wook in the final to become the ...

2016

Prannoy started 2016 on a good note by beating German ace

Marc Zwiebler Marc Zwiebler () (born 13 March 1984) is a badminton player from Germany. His highest ranking is 10 in the world. He is a seven-time German national champion in men's singles. He won gold at the 2012 European Championships in Karlskrona over H ...

in the finals of the Swiss Open Grand Prix gold 21–18, 21–15.

2017

Prannoy played for the

Mumbai Rockets Mumbai Rockets is a franchise badminton team representing Mumbai in the Premier Badminton League (PBL). The franchise is owned by Bombay Badminton Pvt. Ltd. The team's home ground is The National Sports Club Of India, Mumbai. The team is captai ...

franchise in the 2017 season of the

Premier Badminton League Premier Badminton League (PBL) is a team badminton league operating in India. Sportz & Live Private Limited (Sportzlive) has the rights to operate and execute the Premier Badminton League. The inaugural season of PBL was held from 2 to 17 Janu ...

. In the 2017 Indonesia Open, he defeated the reigning Olympic silver medalist

Lee Chong Wei Datuk Lee Chong Wei (; born 21 October 1982) is a Malaysian former badminton player. As a singles player, Lee was ranked first worldwide for 349 weeks, including a 199-week streak from 21 August 2008 to 14 June 2012. He is the fifth Malay ...

and the reigning Olympic champion

Chen Long Chen Long (; ; born 18 January 1989), is a Chinese former professional badminton player. He is the 2016 Badminton at the Summer Olympics, Olympic champion, two-time BWF World Championships, World champion, and an Badminton Asia Championships, ...

in consecutive matches, but lost to Japanese

Kazumasa Sakai is a Japanese badminton player who is single specialist. Achievements East Asian Games ''Men's singles'' BWF World Tour The BWF World Tour, announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments ...

in the semi-finals. At the 2017 U.S. Open, he defeated Vietnamese

Nguyễn Tiến Minh Nguyễn Tiến Minh (born February 12, 1983) is a Vietnamese badminton player. His best achievement to date was the bronze medal at the World Championship in 2013. Career Introduced to badminton by his father at the early age of 10, Nguy ...

to reach the finals, where he beat compatriot

Parupalli Kashyap Parupalli Kashyap (born 8 September 1986) is an Indian badminton player. A former World No.6, he trains at Gopichand Badminton Academy. He was awarded the Arjuna Award by the Government of India in 2012. He created history by reaching the qu ...

to win the title.

2018

Prannoy participated in the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

, where he finished in fourth place after being beaten by

Rajiv Ouseph Theratil Rajiv Ouseph (born 30 August 1986) is a former badminton player from England who represented both England and Great Britain in the international tournaments. Ouseph was the European Champion, winning in 2017. Ouseph was born and brough ...

of England in the bronze medal match. He then won a bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Championships, after beating second seed

Son Wan-ho Son Wan-ho (Hangul: 손완호; or ; born 17 May 1988) is a South Korean badminton player. He reached a career high as world number 1 in the men's singles in May 2017. He competed at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. He plays primarily defensive ...

in the quarterfinals. However, he was defeated in the semifinal by third seed

2021

Prannoy had a disastrous start to 2021 after exiting in the early rounds of the 2021 Swiss Open and the

2021 All England Open The 2021 All England Open (officially known as the Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships 2021 for sponsorship reasons) was a badminton tournament which took place at Utilita Arena Birmingham in England from 17 to 21 March 2021. It had a ...

. However, he came back strongly in the second half of the year, most notably defeating reigning Olympic champion

in the 2nd round of the 2021 Indonesia Masters in November. He got further success in the

2021 BWF World Championships The 2021 BWF World Championships (officially known as the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2021 for sponsorship reasons) was a badminton tournament which took place from 12 to 19 December 2021 at Palacio de los Deportes Carolina Marín in H ...

, held in December, where he upset World no. 9

Ng Ka Long Angus Ng Ka-long (born 24 June 1994) is a badminton player from Hong Kong. He has a career-high ranking of 6th in the men's singles discipline. He won the 2016 Hong Kong Super Series and the 2020 Thailand Masters. Early life and education ...

of Hong Kong in the 1st round and World no. 10

Rasmus Gemke Rasmus Gemke (born 11 January 1997) is a Danish badminton player. He was awarded the 2012 Badminton Denmark Comet of the Year. He was part of the Danish national U-19 team to win bronze at the 2015 European Junior Badminton Championships in Lubin ...

in the pre-quarterfinals. He lost to the eventual world champion

Loh Kean Yew Loh Kean Yew (; born 26 June 1997) is a Singaporean badminton player. He is the former men's singles world champion, winning the title at the 2021 BWF World Championships, becoming the first Singaporean to achieve this feat. Born in Penang, M ...

of Singapore in the quarterfinals. His consistent performances in the last few months of the year enabled him to rise to World no. 27 at the end of the year.

2022

Prannoy was part of the India squad for the 2022 Thomas Cup. In the quarter-final against Malaysia, he won the decider match against

Leong Jun Hao Leong Jun Hao (; born 13 July 1999) is a Malaysian badminton player. He was the boys' singles champion at the 2017 Asia Junior Championships. This achievement was followed by a silver medal at World Junior Championships. Personal life Leong ...

to assure India a semi-final spot and its first-ever medal in the

Thomas Cup The Thomas Cup, sometimes called the World Men's Team Championships, is an international badminton competition among teams representing member nations of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the sport's global governing body. The championships h ...

. He repeated this performance in the semi-final against Denmark, beating

in the deciding match to take India to the final, which India eventually won. Prannoy also had a consistent year on the

BWF World Tour The BWF World Tour is a Grade 2 badminton tournament series, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF). It is a competition open to the top world ranked players in singles (men's and women's) and doubles (men's, women's and mixed). The compet ...

, reaching six quarterfinals and two semifinals, as well as the quarterfinal of the 2022 BWF World Championships. This enabled him to re-enter the Top 15 in the BWF World Rankings after 4 years. He also qualified for the

BWF World Tour Finals The BWF World Tour Finals, officially HSBC BWF World Tour Finals, which succeeds BWF Super Series Finals, is an annual badminton tournament which is held every December of a year where the players with the most points from that calendar year's event ...

for the first time in his career.

Achievements

Asian Championships

''Men's singles''

South Asian Games

''Men's singles''

Youth Olympic Games

''Boys' singles''

BWF World Junior Championships

''Boys' singles''

BWF World Tour (1 runner-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the

Badminton World Federation The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the international governing body for the sport of badminton recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was founded in 1934 as the International Badminton Federation (IBF) with nine member ...

(BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300, and the BWF Tour Super 100. ''Men's singles''

BWF Grand Prix (3 titles, 1 runner-up)

The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the

(BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017. ''Men's singles'' : BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament : BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series (1 title, 2 runners-up)

''Men's singles'' :

BWF International Challenge The BWF International Challenge is a grade 3 and level 1 tournament part of Continental Circuit of BWF tournaments along with International Series (level 2) and Future Series (level 3), sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007. ...

tournament :

BWF International Series The BWF International Series is a grade 3 and level 2 tournament part of Continental Circuit of BWF tournaments along with International Challenge (level 1) and Future Series (level 3), sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007. ...

tournament

Record against selected opponents

Record against Year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi finalists, and Olympic quarter finalists. Accurate as of 28 November 2022.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Prannoy 1992 births Living people Sportspeople from Thiruvananthapuram Racket sportspeople from Kerala Indian male badminton players Badminton players at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics Badminton players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for India Commonwealth Games medallists in badminton Badminton players at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for India South Asian Games gold medalists for India South Asian Games silver medalists for India South Asian Games medalists in badminton Recipients of the Arjuna Award