BWF World Tour Finals 2022: India's only participant HS Prannoy drawn with world's no. 1 Viktor Axelsen in Group A

    India's sole entrant HS Prannoy is making his debut at the 2022 BWF World Tour Finals and has been placed in Group A alongside world number one Viktor Axelsen.

    HS Prannoy is making his debut at the 2022 BWF World Tour Finals. HS Prannoy is making his debut at the 2022 BWF World Tour Finals.

    World number 12 HS Prannoy has been drawn in Group A with Viktor Axelsen of Denmark, world number 14 Kodai Naraoka of Japan and world number 17 Lu Guang Zu of China.

    Group B consists of Loh Kean Yew, Anthony Ginting, Jonatan Christie, and Chou Tien Chen. The top two players from each group will advance to the knockouts.

    Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen is the favourite to win Bangkok's 2022 BWF World Tour Finals. He has a win-loss record of 5-1 against Prannoy but lost the last clash in November.

    <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">LET THE SHOW BEGIN 🎬🔥<br><br>📺: <a href="https://twitter.com/justvoot?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@justvoot</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/JioCinema?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JioCinema</a> &amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/Sports18?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Sports18</a><br><br>📸: <a href="https://twitter.com/badmintonphoto?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@badmintonphoto</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BWFWorldTourFinals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BWFWorldTourFinals</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IndiaontheRise?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IndiaontheRise</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Badminton?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Badminton</a> <a href="https://t.co/rQVXwYsz4s">pic.twitter.com/rQVXwYsz4s</a></p>&mdash; BAI Media (@BAI_Media) <a href="https://twitter.com/BAI_Media/status/1600320902670929920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 7, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

    Prannoy has faced both Naraoka and Zu one time each, losing to the Japanese shuttler at the 2022 Singapore Open and the Chinese shuttler at French Open.

    The 30-year-old Delhi native said: "I am really excited to start my BWF World Tour Finals campaign. It is my first time in the year-ending championships. I hope I can perform really well."

    Commonwealth Gold medallist Prannoy will be aiming to become the second Indian shuttler to win the title at the season-ending championships as PV Sindhu became the lone Indian to win the BWF World Tour Finals in 2018.

    Prannoy has enjoyed an excellent run this season, earning his way back into the top 15 after four years. He helped the Indian contingent win their maiden Thomas Cup title, finished runner-up at the Swiss Open Super 300, and advanced to the semi-finals at the Indonesia Open Super 1000, and Malaysia Masters Super 500.

    General secretary of the badminton association of India, Sanjay Mishra, said: "He has performed significantly for a long time and it's time for him to win the title. His ability to defeat top players of the world, at any given day, makes him a strong contender."

     

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