Indias Hs Prannoy lost to Thailands Kunlavut Vitidsarn in a marathon encounter at the semi-finals of The Badminton World Championship 2023 held in Copenhagen. Prannoy ended up with a bronze medal while playing on Saturday, August 26. He lost in pursuit to Vitidsarn, with a startling score of 21-18, 13-21, and 14-21 on the scoreboard. The semi-final was timed as an hour-and-16-minute encounter.The first game Prannoy, who is ranked No. 9 in the world, got off to a strong start against his opponent, pulling out an 11-5 lead. By the end of the first game, his levels had dropped after scoring seven straight points. A speculated reason was that he might have experienced foot pain. Prannoy was spotted with tape covering the sides of both of his feet, leading the commentators to wonder if he was suffering from blisters.Having defeated last years finalist Lakshya Sen in Round 3 of the competition, Vitidsarn re-entered the match with ease and quickly caught up with the points. Prannoys careless badminton cost him some points while trying to smash his opponent he ended up hitting the net from close range. Vitidsarn was able to recover to 18–20. Prannoy, however, remained focused and won the first game 21-18.The second game In the second game, both players became more aggressive and traded blows. At 6-6 in the second game, Prannoy started to feel a little worn out. Rather than attacking, Prannoy waited for the shuttle to approach him, as he had done earlier. This maneuver of his was the main change from the opening game. Hs changed his approach and attempted to slow down the match by launching numerous backcourt lobs, but Vitidsarn held him off.On the break of the second game, Vitidsarn won 5 straight points and went into the lead by 11-7. With a cross-court smash, Prannoy ultimately chopped off Vitidsarns seven-point streak. After the break, the top-ranked Indian found his range and reduced the deficit to 13–15.Vitidsarn was left in search of explanations as Prannoys lifts and smashes appeared to be inch-perfect. After Prannoy discovered range in his lift, he unleashed a thunderous smash from the backcourt to disrupt the games flow once more. The World No. 3 gained confidence after that and didnt lose a single point.Prannoys errors while smashing the shuttle as well as with his forehand lift down the line cost him the second game by 21-13.The final game The final game opened with ominous signs for Prannoy, with Him falling 5-2 behind. Prannoy went all-out and had almost matched Vitidsarn going into the break of the final game. With 8-7 up, meanwhile, Vitidsarn showed some stunning defense against Prannoy and made his way to an 11-7 lead around the break. Vitidsarn reached most of Prannoys shots despite the Indian shuttler deceiving in the air. Prannoy struggled in the second half of the final game, leading him to hit the net several Times. Hs was not able to hold on to his serve for a longer duration. Vitidsarn finished the final game 21-14 and became the first player since Kento Momota to reach consecutive finals of the Badminton World Championships. Prannoy, on the other hand, was the fifth mens singles player to attain a medal. Earlier, Prakash Padukone, Kidambi Srikanth, Lakshya Sen, and B Sai Praneeth had won medals in the competition.
