Men’s poor run continues as HS Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth ousted at Swiss Open

India hasn't won a singles Super 750+ title in many seasons, but even a Super 300 like Swiss Open seems to be proving difficult for the shuttlers now

HS Prannoy in action.

It has been a torrid European swing for India’s men’s singles players who continued their poor run at St Jakobshalle a week after the All England. Listless and yielding, the three defeats on Thursday had none of the fight that Kidambi Srikanth or HS Prannoy are capable of, and no spark that national champion Mithun Manjunath ought to display after a step up on to the international circuit.

India hasn’t won a singles Super 750+ title in many seasons, but even a Super 300 like Swiss Open seems to be proving difficult for the shuttlers now. And things got dire in Basel when between them, Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong and Christo Popov of France accounted for four Indians in two days — Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth; Kiran George and Prannoy respectively.

The tall Frenchman, ranked World No 40, played a rather basic game with some exorbitant smashes thrown in, but it was a lacklustre Prannoy who had no answers defensively, and no attacking verve that tends to be the staple of his game on the day. It came a day after the Indian World No 9 had taken out Shi Yuqi, the All England finalist, and the turnaround time between the match last night and the afternoon game the next day was way too little to recover.

But he ended up bruised 21-8, 21-8 in quick time too, offering little resistance. Struggling to find his length, the rallies were short and drab and lacked the usual punch that Prannoy brings to a fight. It was short work, done and dusted in 36 minutes, and Prannoy didn’t lead the score even once. Little recovery time – if not a niggle could be the only explanation for how listless the Indian was.

In another second-round match, Kidambi Srikanth frittered four set points rather inexplicably and then never recovered to lose 22-20, 21-17 against Lee Cheuk Yiu. It has become an unfortunate recurring pattern with Srikanth – something no coach might be able to solve – but he contrived to lose from being 20-16 up in the first set.

There were errors of course as six straight points went to Lee, but Srikanth also chased down shuttles that were sailing wide, and over-hit a smash as Lee went on a 6-point flurry to hop away to the opener.

The shift in momentum at the end of the first had a wretched effect on Srikanth, who continued being error-prone just minutes after looking in control of progressing with winners after 40 minutes. The second set didn’t seem in his range as he trailed for the most part and finally went down in straight sets in yet another tournament.

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Srikanth went into the break trailing 6-11, but weaved in a few winners to come to within 10-11 of Lee. The Hong Kong shuttler, ranked 19, one place above Srikanth, however, had a handle on speed and blitzed through points, inducing errors.

Stringing together five wins in five days seems like an almighty struggle when converting even one of the four match points available is made to look so terribly tough. But a men’s singles title seems like a steep upclimb from the level where the shuttlers are operating right now. It’s a far cry from 2021 when India picked silver and bronze at the World Championships and had three of the eight quarterfinalists.

The collective slump though is inexplicable, and the consistency of putting together five wins is eluding every one of them now. Consistency over playing back-to-back weeks seems to be eluding everyone on the circuit too.

Mithun Manjunath who didn’t play Birmingham, too led 12-8 in the opener but was too leaden-footed – especially in his defense on the backhand – to trouble Chia Hao Lee (World no 42) of Taiwan and went on to lose 21-19, 21-10 in 39 minutes. Chia simply hit the next gear in the second, after he parried away World No 46 Mithun’s limited challenge in the first.

Shivani Naik

Shivani Naik is a senior sports journalist and Assistant Editor at The Indian Express. She is widely considered one of the leading voices in Indian Olympic sports journalism, particularly known for her deep expertise in badminton, wrestling, and basketball. Professional Profile Role: Assistant Editor and Columnist at The Indian Express. Specialization: While she covers a variety of sports, she is the primary authority on badminton for the publication. She also writes extensively about tennis, track and field, wrestling, and gymnastics. Writing Style: Her work is characterized by "technical storytelling"—breaking down the biomechanics, tactics, and psychological grit of athletes. She often provides "long reads" that explore the personal journeys of athletes beyond the podium. Key Topics & Recent Coverage (Late 2025) Shivani Naik’s recent articles (as of December 2025) focus on the evolving landscape of Indian sports as athletes prepare for the 2026 Asian Games and beyond: Indian Badminton's "Hulks": She has recently written about a new generation of Indian shuttlers characterized by power and physicality, such as Ayush Shetty and Sathish Karunakaran, marking a shift from the traditionally finesse-based Indian style. PV Sindhu’s Resurgence: A significant portion of her late-2025 work tracks PV Sindhu’s tactical shifts under new coaching, focusing on her "sparkle" and technical tweaks to break out of career slumps. The "Group of Death": In December 2025, she provided detailed tactical previews for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s campaign in the BWF World Tour Finals. Tactical Deep Dives: She frequently explores technical trends, such as the rise of "backhand deception" in modern badminton and the importance of court drift management in international arenas. Legacy and History: She often revisits the careers of legends like Saina Nehwal and Syed Modi, providing historical context to current Indian successes. Notable Recent Articles BWF World Tour Finals: Satwik-Chirag have it all to do to get through proverbial Group of Death. (Dec 2025) The age of Hulks in Indian badminton is here. (Dec 2025) Treadmill, Yoganidra and building endurance: The themes that defined the resurgence of Gayatri and Treesa. (Dec 2025) Ayush Shetty beats Kodai Naraoka: Will 20-year-old be the headline act in 2026? (Nov 2025) Modern Cinderella tale – featuring An Se-young and a shoe that fits snugly. (Nov 2025) Other Sports Interests Beyond the court, Shivani is a passionate follower of South African cricket, sometimes writing emotional columns about her irrational support for the Proteas, which started because of love for Graeme Smith's dour and doughty Test playing style despite being a left-hander, and sustained over curiosity over their heartbreaking habit of losing ICC knockouts. You can follow her detailed analysis and columns on her official Indian Express profile page. ... Read More