Badminton News: HS Prannoy reclaims world no. 8 ranking
Indian shuttler HS Prannoy has reclaimed his career-high number eight ranking in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings were released on Tuesday.
Image credit: pia.images.co.uk H S Prannoy in good form this yearhe Kerela, born 30 years old, has been blessed with good form this year.
After he touched the number eight ranking in 2018 for the first time, he slumped to 34 in 2019. Fortunately, he threw in brilliant performances in 2022, including a Thomas Cup victory, seven quarterfinals, two semifinals and a runner-up finish at the Swiss Open.
Although an individual title eluded him, he was a crucial player in the Indian team's monumental Thomas Cup win in Bangkok. His remarkable consistency earned him a place in the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">All set for Arjuna Awards ! <a href="https://twitter.com/lakshya_sen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@lakshya_sen</a> <a href="https://t.co/3X3gFdUgpV">pic.twitter.com/3X3gFdUgpV</a></p>— PRANNOY HS (@PRANNOYHSPRI) <a href="https://twitter.com/PRANNOYHSPRI/status/1597876267558535174?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
He was also nominated for the BWF Player of the year award. Apart from Prannoy, badminton prodigy Lakshya Sen remained glued to number seven, and Kidambi Srikanth slid a spot to the 12th position.
Among women shuttlers, Olympic silver medallist and world champion PV Sindhu has endured an injury-laden season that witnessed her crawl one spot down to the seventh position in women's singles after her Commonwealth Games triumph.
Indian duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty remained static at number five. Meanwhile, rising stars in doubles - MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila - climbed three spots to become world number 21.
The women's doubles partnership between Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly, which snapped up a bronze in Birmingham CWG, jumped to number 17.
In mixed doubles, we witnessed Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto jump two places and land at the 18th spot. Other than these well-known Indian stars, others have impressed this season too.
Sankar Muthusamy becomes the youngest Indian since Lakshya Sen to enter BWF Top 100 in men's singles
Indian youngster Sankar Muthuswami is currently ranked 99 according to the latest rankings, with rating points of 16,320. The rising star cracked the top 100 at 18 and 11 months.
Consequently, he finished 2022 by becoming the youngest Indian badminton player after Lakshya Sen entered the top 100 in the world men's singles.
In 2022, the southpaw exhibited solid form and spectacular performances. He was a quarterfinalist in the Nagpur Challenge, the Cameron International Series and the Bahrain International Series.
His best moment arrived when the Tamil Nadu-based player defeated Indonesia's Tommy Sugiarto, a former world number three, in the Vietnam Super 100. He reigned over the junior rankings earlier in August and then won a silver at the Junior world championships.
Moreover, at 17, he became a finalist in the senior tournament called the 2021 Uganda International. According to Sankar's coach, Aravindan Samiappan, the 18-year-old can reach the top 50 and win a BWF tour title in 2023.