Lone ranger HS Prannoy eyes glory at maiden World Tour Finals

Star Indian shuttler HS Prannoy will look to display fearless brand of badminton in his quest for glory against the best in the business on his maiden BWF World Tour Finals appearance from WednesdayWith double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu skipping the event due to an injury Prannoy emerged as Indias lone representative at the yearending tournament which was moved from Guangzhou China due to the rise in COVID19 infectionOne of the most consistent Indian players in the circuit this season Prannoy has been clubbed in Group A along with Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark Japans Kodai Naraoka and Chinas Lu Guang ZuI am excited to start my BWF World Tour Finals campaign Its my first time in the yearending championships and I hope I can perform well said the thirdseeded Prannoy who recently conferred with the Arjuna awardWhile Prannoy has got a decent draw and will fancy his chances of making it to the semifinals from the group stage it will not be an easy task as he doesnt hold a good record against his group opponentsAlso readBWF World Championships 2022 HS Prannoy knocked out in quarterfinalsPrannoy has a dismal 15 record against the world No 1 but he would take confidence from the fact that he had defeated the Dane in their last meeting last year in Indonesia MastersAgainst the 21yearold new sensation Kodai Naraoka Prannoy had suffered a loss in their only meeting in Singapore Open in JulyThe Indian had lost to Chinas Lu Guang Zu too in his only meeting at French OpenHowever Prannoy who has been nominated for BWFs Most Improved Player of the Year award is known to raise his game in bigticket events and has been a revelation this yearHe played a stellar role in Indias epic Thomas Cup win in May and also produced a runnerup finish at the Swiss Open Super 300 besides reaching the semifinals at the Indonesia Open Super 1000 and Malaysia Masters Super 500 eventHis fine run in the world tour events earned him a direct qualification to the season finale for the first time in his career and he would look to make the most of the opportunity this weekWhile defending champion Axelsen is certainly the most difficult hurdle on his way Prannoy can illafford any slipups against the other two opponentsAxelsen has swept the season claiming an overwhelming 39match winning streak a world record in the discipline and five Super Series titlesAmong others in the field Chou Tien Chen Jonatan Christie Anthony Ginting and Loh Kean Yew are all capable of going the distance in the eventBut Prannoy who is fondly called the beast by his friends could be the dark horse especially for his ability to create upsetsThe world number 12 hasnt won a title for over five years and he will look to end things on a high ahead of the new seasonFor India Sindhu is the only one to win the prestigious title while Sameer Verma reached the last four in the 2018 editionIn womens singles defending champion An Se Young world champion Akane Yamaguchi Olympic champion Chen Yufei and He Bingjiao who claimed Denmark Open and French Open titles are all strong contendersTai Tzu Ying and Ratchanok Intanon might not have had a great season but their past years achievements will keep them in contentionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever