HS Prannoy crashes out of Taipei Open 2026, four Indians enter quarter-finals
Taipei, July 30
India's HS Prannoy suffered a second-round exit at the Taipei Open 2026 badminton tournament on Thursday while Unnati Hooda and three other Indian shuttlers progressed to the quarter-finals of the BWF Super 300 event, according to Olympics.com.
Prannoy went down 21-9, 21-19 to Hong Kong China's Jason Gunawan in 39 minutes. The world No. 38 struggled in the opening game and, despite improving in the second, failed to push the match into a decider. The loss extends a difficult 2026 BWF World Tour campaign for Prannoy, who is yet to move beyond the second round in any tournament this year.
Gunawan, who had defeated India's Mithun Manjunath in the opening round, has now eliminated two Indian players in successive rounds.
Notably, HS Prannoy had also suffered a first-round exit in the China Open 2026 at Changzhou, China earlier in the month.
At the Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium, Prannoy went down 21-10, 21-14 to Malaysia's world No. 27 Leong Jun Hao in the men's singles opening round.
Meanwhile, Unnati Hooda led India's positive results at the Taipei Open, defeating compatriot Tanya Hemanth 21-19, 21-12 to enter the women's singles quarter-finals. Tanvi Sharma continued her impressive form with a 21-17, 22-20 win over Indonesia's Thalita Wiryawan, while eighth seed Devika Sihag defeated Ni Kadek Dhinda Pratiwi of Indonesia 21-16, 21-15 to also reach the last eight.
Devika and Unnati will now face each other in the quarter-finals.
In men's singles, Kiran George kept India's hopes alive by defeating Tharun Mannepalli 21-15, 21-16 in an all-Indian clash. However, Anmol Kharb narrowly missed out after losing 21-10, 22-20 to home favourite and second seed Lin Hsiang-ti.
India's doubles campaign at the Taipei Open had already ended on Wednesday after Bhargav Ram Arigela and Viswa Tej Gobburu suffered an opening-round defeat.
— ANI
Reader Comments
As a badminton fan from the US, I've been following these Asian tournaments closely. Prannoy is better than this—he's had some epic battles with top players in the past. Hopefully he finds his rhythm soon. Good to see young Indian talent stepping up though! 💪
Sad to see Prannoy exit early again—he's been a warrior for Indian badminton, but age catches up. However, Unnati Hooda at just 18 is incredible! And Kiran George beating Tharun in an all-Indian clash shows our depth. The future is bright, just need to support all players equally. 🤞
I watch badminton from the UK and love how India is producing so many young shuttlers. Unnati Hooda particularly stands out—her composure at such a young age is impressive. Hope the BWF tour gives her more exposure. Prannoy needs some technical adjustments maybe? 🤷♀️
This is a mixed bag for India. Prannoy's exit is disappointing but Unnati, Tanvi, Devika, and Kiran making quarters is great progress. Devika vs Unnati in QF will be tough but at least one Indian woman will reach semis. Doubles team need to improve though—our doubles game has been lagging for a while. Keep fighting! 🇮🇳🏸
Prannoy has given so much to Indian badminton but this year's results are worrying—he needs to go back to basics, maybe work on his stamina and
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