HS Prannoy lost to China's Li Shifeng in the men's singles semifinal of the Asian Games and settled for bronze.
The greatest achievement that a sportsperson earns is even when he/she goes down, he/she commands respect from everyone. During the semi-finals of the Asian Games, HS Prannoy demonstrated everything which commanded the respect of one and all present around him. His determination and grit showed the level at which Indian badminton has elevated itself at the international level. Prannoy went down fighting at the finals against a strong Chinese opponent, Li Shifeng to take home bronze. Thereby, he became the second badminton player to win a medal at the continental showpiece after the legendary Syed Modi. Prannoy’s bronze took India’s medal tally to 88. Thereby, it solidified the fourth spot in the medal standings with 21 gold, 32 silver and 35 bronze medals.
HS Prannoy lost to China’s Li Shifeng in the men’s singles semifinal and settled for bronze. Earlier, Prannoy fought a tremendous Quarterfinals even though the Indian shuttler was suffering from back pain. Prannoy played with a taping on his lower back and a belt under his shirt which shows his dedication and temperament towards the game. The Indian shuttler demonstrated a lot of grit and resilience in the first set. However, Li raced past him in the second set. In the end, the final scoreline was 21-16 and 21-9 in favour of China. Prannoy has become only the first Indian in 41 years to win a badminton medal in men’s singles at the Asian Games. India’s top-ranked men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will also take the court in the semifinal later in the day.
Prannoy said after the match, “I think it was a really tough one out there. I think Lee is always a tough opponent. It was a very physical match today for me.” Interestingly, Prannoy another record in the pulsating match against Shifeng. He became the third shuttler above the age of 30 in the Asian Games to win a medal. The other two being- Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei.
Twitter was bustling with great joy as India was able to notch up a significant win which ended the medal drought at the Asian Games. The last time India saw a glimpse of the podium at the Asiad was during the time of the legendary Indian shuttler Syed Modi. Naturally, the netizens took to social media to celebrate this win. Listed below are the top Twitter reactions:
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