Bangkok: The World No. 28 HS Prannoy of India proved once again on Wednesday that he could never be counted out. Down 18-20 and facing match point, the Indian fought back to complete an incredible 18-21, 21-16, 23-21 comeback against Indonesian and World No. 7 Jonatan Christie.
The former World No. 8 player, injured his left shoulder when he was down 20-21 in the third set and needed medical attention. He then reeled off three consecutive points to win the decider 23-21.
“I’m proud of my win today. I haven’t practiced the last few days and my rib was hurting. Probably there’s a muscle inflammation because I was coughing a lot when I had Covid,” said Prannoy to Indian media.
“Today I just wanted to stay in there as there were no expectations. I had a fall and hurt my left shoulder. I felt it was dislocated but it went back into place. Right now it’s ok but it might start hurting again after a while,” added Prannoy. He will face Malaysia’s Daren Liew next.
Indonesia also suffered another disappointment in the men’s doubles department, as World No. 6 Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto lost their first-round match to World No. 32 Ben Lane/Sean Vendy of England 18-21, 19-21.
Lane/Vendy will take on M.R. Arjun/Dhruv Kapila in the second round.
In a repeat of last week’s first-round battle, Carolina Marin who won the YONEX Thailand Open champion last Sunday saw off Qi Xuefei from France 21-9, 21-18. Marin will play Line Højmark Kjaersfeldt of Denmark next.
