HS Prannoy Exits Early at Korea Open 2026 After Loss to Yoo Tae-bin

HS Prannoy's Early Exit from Korea Open

Yeosu, South Korea - On November 4, HS Prannoy faced an unfortunate first-round defeat at the Korea Open 2026, losing to South Korea's Yoo Tae-bin in the men's singles round of 32 held at Jinnam Stadium.

The World Championships bronze medallist fell short with scores of 21-23, 15-21 in a match that lasted 47 minutes, as reported by a sports news outlet.

Ranked 38th globally, Prannoy was the only Indian competitor in the men's singles main draw after Hylo Open champion Lakshya Sen opted out of the event.

This loss marks Prannoy's third consecutive first-round exit on the BWF World Tour this year, following similar outcomes at both the Hylo Open and Arctic Open. The former world No. 6 has struggled to maintain consistency, having advanced past the second round only once in 15 tournaments this season.

His most notable performance this year was at the Vietnam Open in September, where he reached the semi-finals of the BWF Super 100 tournament.

During the match on Wednesday, Prannoy managed to recover from a 12-7 deficit in the first game to take a 19-16 lead. However, Yoo rallied back to tie the score at 19-19 before clinching the game 23-21.

Yoo continued his momentum into the second game, establishing an 8-3 lead and ultimately winning the match 21-15.

In contrast, Anmol Kharb advanced to the women's singles second round after defeating Canada's Rachel Chan with scores of 21-19, 21-18 in a 38-minute match.

Having reached the semi-finals at the Hylo Open last week, Anmol is set to face Japan's second seed Akane Yamaguchi in the round of 16 on Thursday.

Tanvi Sharma also moved on to the second round, overcoming Japan's Manami Suizu with scores of 21-16, 12-21, 21-17 in a match that lasted one hour and 12 minutes. Tanvi previously secured her first BWF World Tour title at the Taipei Open earlier this year.

She will compete against the winner of the match between Japan's fifth seed Hina Akechi and China's Xu Wenjing in the round of 16 on Thursday.

In mixed doubles, India's Dhruv Rawat and Maneesha K narrowly lost 22-20, 12-21, 22-24 to China's seventh-seeded duo of Zhu Yi Jun and Li Qian in a tightly contested 58-minute match.

Additionally, India's women's doubles team of Ritika Thaker and Sonali Singh withdrew before their first-round match against Australia's Laudya Chelsea Griselda and Nozomi Shimizu on Tuesday.

The men's doubles pair of Arjun Reddy Pochana and Achutaditya Rao Doddavarapu also did not advance past the qualification round. The Korea Open 2026 is scheduled to conclude on Sunday.