Birmingham, Mar 11 (PTI) India's HS Prannoy bowed out of the All England Championships on Tuesday, suffering a straight-game defeat to France's Toma Junior Popov in the men's singles opening round.

On a comeback trail, Prannoy, a bronze medallist at the 2023 World Championships and Asian Games, fought for 53 minutes before going down 19-21, 16-21 to Popov, who is currently ranked 17th in the world.

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The 32-year-old, ranked 29th, had his chances in the opening game, leading 6-1 and 15-12, but faltered in the face of the relentless pressure of Popov, who turned the game around from 16-18 to 19-18 before taking the lead.

Popov grew in confidence after the change of ends, moving from 5-3 to 13-9. Prannoy fought back to level at 13-13, but Popov surged ahead as the Indian crumbled. PTI

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(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)