Kodai Naraoka of Japan defeated Prannoy in his first match of the mega tournament on Wednesday. Even if the third-seeded Indian badminton player defeats Tokyo 2020 winner Viktor Axelsen in the last group match on Friday, the back-to-back losses will not allow him to advance to the semi-finals.
HS Prannoy, ranked 12th in the world, was defeated by world No. 14 Japanese shuttler 21-12, 9-21, 21-17 in a men's singles Group A match that lasted an hour.
Playing on court 1, Sindhu overcame a strong challenge from her Chinese rival Han Yue 17-21 21-11 21-19 in a contest lasting 62 minutes to book her semifinal berth.