Thailand Open: HS Prannoy braves injury to beat 6th seed Jonatan Christie in Round 1, Ashwini-Sikki lose

India’s HS Prannoy braved an injury scare and fought back brilliantly after being a set down to beat the Asian Games champion Jonatan Christie 18-21, 21-16, 23-21 in the first round of Toyota Thailand Open on Wednesday.

Prannoy saved two match points and had to be looked at by the physio when Indonesia’s Christie was 20-18 up in the decider, but bounced back to save the points and eventually took the set 23-21.

In the first game, Prannoy started slow but gathered momentum midway through the game as he pulled off some great cross-court smashes to stretch the sixth-seed. From trailing 9-11, he eventually got it even at 17-17. But the Indonesian was too good and wrapped up the game 21-18.