Prannoy turns table on World No 5 Christie for first win over him since 2021

It tends to get overlooked because Kidambi Srikanth’s game was so elegant and Lakshya Sen’s style is so electric, that Prannoy was one of India’s earliest World Junior Championships medallists. He found even more renown because he pulled off Taufik Hidayat’s backhand smash with some proficiency. ‘Backhand beast’ was alliterative.

But Wednesday was about just how prolific Prannoy can be with other backhand strokes, not just the sensational looking smash. His first point itself had Prannoy scurrying to the net, poised to play a backhand push that ought to have gone cross – sending Jojo turning in that direction, but the shuttle went straight. It’s a stroke that helped him beat Viktor Axelsen at his last World Championships. Only Prannoy could think of playing it first-up. Jojo was immediately jittery.

Prannoy in action on Wednesday. (Badminton Photo)

Still, the Indonesian is a Top 5 staple for a reason. Equally an all-court player, he doesn’t get fazed, and has the counters to anything opponents throw at him. So, Jojo calmly collected the first set 21-10. MS Dhoni’s late charges in chases have many a fan in Indian badminton. But Prannoy really mixes Ali’s rope-a-dope with Djokovic’s fifth set resurrections quite routinely. Losing the first set to get a drift of the court – literally in that hyper-gravity wind chamber of Singapore, was the start of pure theatre in Round 1.

The backhand operated at all lengths. In the second set, Prannoy established an easy lead getting to 13-9 with a low pickup across host body, sending it arching over the net. A top view parabolic model of his loopy controlled strokes would resemble thise fancy south east Asian cities with flyovers ctisscrossing each other at different heights, when Tiger economies were still a new thing. But Prannoy’s variation is literally those flighted shuttles that boggle mid-air.

He raised the lead to 15-10 in the second set, with a gentle backhand flick that curved for a drop close to the net. It is very difficult to confuse Jojo, is one of the better anticipators on the circuit, but a fit Prannoy did it repeatedly to take the second 21-12. Having pushed the decider, he got into the third, with a totally different game mode: he cut all the air on the shuttle, and switched to flat fasts.

Controlling the drift and taming the shuttle in gusty conditions involves the ability to change your game every few minutes. This isn’t just Plan B, but C, D, E, accounting for side drift, change of ends, and general theme of keeping opponents guessing.

Prannoy continuously fell back, but by the end of it, Jojo would’ve prayed to not take the lead, because the Indian’s response was scalding. 9-10 down, he played yet another low block from the backhand that skimmed the line. It is impossible to nail those unless your shuttle control is honed for years.

Down 14-15, Prannoy simply upped the gear, knowing Jojo would come under pressure and used short smashes striking from high to mess with his defense. Still, the Indonesian pulled things back and took a 18-16 lead.

Many a rival have regretted believing an ageing, tired, visibly panting Prannoy will wilt from 3 points away from their wins. He doesn’t.

He tugged back the shuttle, as if he had it on a leash, completely boggling Jojo in the next 4 points to upturn it to a 20-16 lead. Body smashes angled into the Indonesian had done the trick too – cramping his defense is the shot quality Prannoy possesses.

But after the fast almost-doubles like exchanges, with two match points, Prannoy brought out the swaggering smash – full-blooded, forehand crosscourt, burying Jojo’s hopes. Then he roared – avenging the Swiss Open title Jojo had cost him.