HS Prannoy eliminated from the All England Badminton Championships in Birmingham with a 22-20, 16-21, 21-23 quarter-final loss to China's world No.42 Huang Yuxiang on Friday. Competing in his first quarter-final at the oldest stage of badminton, Prannoy was in cruise control until Yuxiang switched gears to turn the match on its head and brutally snatch away the victory from the world No.16. In a battle of temperament and purpose that lasted for an hour and 17 minutes, Prannoy was found wanting in the closing stages of the match, where Yuxiang trumped the India to advance to the semi-finals.

Prannoy began the match on a very slow note while Yuxiang won the initial duels of the match to race to a 12-6. However, Prannoy staged a remarkable comeback to equal the score 12-12. Even after that Prannoy ended up giving Yuxiang two game points, only to dissolve the advantage and win four straight points to take the first game 22-20. The second game began on an extremely close note as the two alternated between the points before Yuxiang went into the break with an 11-9 advantage.

With much ease, Yuxiang took the second game 21-16 and forced the match into the decider. Prannoy began the third game on the front foot and raced to a 10-3 lead. Yuxiang closed the gap and took three straight points before Prannoy went into the break with an 11-6 lead. After the half-time interval, Prannoy kept his stronghold on the match proceedings and increased his lead to 16-10. However, Yuxiang found a completely different gear after that and equalled 19-19. Yuxiang, who win the final sets 23-21.