Match details
Fixture: (8) Lakshya Sen vs HS Prannoy
Tournament: East Ventures Indonesia Open 2022
Date: June 15, 2022
Round: First Round (Round of 32)
Venue: Istora Stadium, Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia
Category: HSBC BWF World Tour Super 1000
Match timing: Approx 3 pm local time, 1.30 pm IST
Prize money: $1,200,000
Channel: Sports18 1 SD & HD
Live streaming: BWF TV
Lakshya Sen vs HS Prannoy preview
Eighth seed Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy square off in a blockbuster all-Indian first-round clash at the Indonesia Open in Jakarta on Wednesday, June 15.
Sen started the season in resounding fashion with the title at the India Open. He then made it to back-to-back finals at the German Open and the All England Open, finishing as runner-up in both.
Since then, however, the 20-year-old has struggled to reach that high level. He made the quarterfinals just once in his next three events, which happened to be the Indonesia Masters last week.
Sen's first-round opponent, HS Prannoy, meanwhile, has fond memories of reaching the semifinals at the same venue back in 2017. The World No. 23 will bank on his strong start to the season to give his younger compatriot a tough fight.
He made the quarterfinals in his first three events of the season before putting up a spectacular display at the Swiss Open to finish as the runner-up. The 29-year-old, however, hasn't been able to find his rhythm in his last couple of tournaments, slumping to early exits in each.
He will hope that a return to the Istora Senayan will bring the best out of him once again.
Lakshya Sen vs HS Prannoy head-to-head
Sen has a 2-0 lead over Prannoy in their head-to-head. Both their meetings so far came this year. While Sen roared back for a 14-21, 21-9, 21-14 win at the India Open, he powered past Prannoy 21-15, 21-16 at the German Open.
Lakshya Sen vs HS Prannoy prediction
Prannoy hasn't managed to beat Sen in their two meetings so far this season. But he enjoys the conditions at the Istora and will hope to reduce the deficit in their head-to-head when the two clash on Wednesday.
Sen, meanwhile, hasn't been at his sharpest of late and that could give the Kerala shuttler a glimmer of hope. However, the World No. 10 has put up a tremendous display of maturity and shown great problem-solving skills over the past few months and is expected to bounce back even after a slow start.
He will look to exploit his older compatriot's lack of speed. If the uber-aggressive Prannoy starts leaking errors, the match will automatically tilt in favor of the World Championships bronze medalist.
Prediction: Lakshya Sen to win in three games.