HS Prannoy withdraws from Denmark and French Open

HS Prannoy has pulled out of the upcoming BWF Denmark and French Open tournaments due to his continuing back injury.

Prannoy initially faced trouble with his back ahead of the 2023 Asian Games and was forced to pull out of the men's team event final against China.

Later, in the men's individual event, the shuttler got on the court with a heavily strapped back. He managed to claw his way to a bronze medal after a difficult win over Malaysia's Lee Zee Jia in the quarter-finals.

Speaking to PTI on his decision to withdraw from the upcoming tournaments in Odense and Cesson-Sévigné, HS Prannoy said:

"We are not looking at playing any tournament this month. Something also came up in the MRI as well, so I will have to be out for 2-3 weeks, so I will not be able to play Denmark and France. I will need to rest and then start with rehab."

Despite this bump in the road, Prannoy is comfortably ranked eighth in the world, putting him in a great spot for qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

HS Prannoy has had a busy year so far, clinching his first BWF World Tour title and World Championships medal, alongside two Asian Games podium finishes. Right now, the Indian will look to recover completely before coming back to action.

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Lakshya Sen highest ranked Indian men's singles player in Denmark in the absence of HS Prannoy

With HS Prannoy withdrawing from the Denmark Open, Lakshya Sen will be India's best hope for a men's singles medal in Odense. He will be joined by compatriots Srikanth Kidambi and Priyanshu Rajawat.

Meanwhile, newly crowned world number one pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, will be in action in the hunt for gold.

The Indian contingent for Denmark will also include two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu, and doubles duo Treesa Jolly and Gayathri Gopichand.