Haseena Sunilkumar Prannoy, popularly known as H. S. Prannoy, is an Indian professional badminton player from Kerala. He competes primarily in men's singles and is known for his attacking style of play, deceptive strokes and resilience in long, gruelling matches. Prannoy has represented India at the Olympic Games, the Thomas Cup, the Sudirman Cup, the BWF World Championships, the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games, and has been a long-standing member of the Indian senior squad.
| Full name | Haseena Sunilkumar Prannoy |
|---|---|
| Known as | H. S. Prannoy |
| Date of birth | 17 July 1992 |
| Place of birth | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India |
| Country | India |
| Sport | Badminton |
| Event | Men's singles |
| Plays | Right-handed |
| Training base | Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy, Hyderabad |
Prannoy was born on 17 July 1992 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, into a Malayali family. He took up badminton at a young age and trained initially in Kerala before moving to Bengaluru to train at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy. He later shifted to Hyderabad to train at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy, which has been the base for several leading Indian shuttlers, including Saina Nehwal, P. V. Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth and Parupalli Kashyap.
Prannoy made his mark on the junior circuit, winning medals at international junior events and establishing himself as one of India's promising singles prospects. He represented India at the BWF World Junior Championships during his teenage years.
On the senior international circuit, Prannoy has won titles on the BWF Grand Prix and BWF World Tour. His earlier title-winning performances included victories on the Grand Prix Gold tier, after which he progressed to the higher levels of the World Tour. He claimed his first BWF World Tour Super 500 singles title at the Malaysia Masters in 2023, a milestone in his senior career.
Prannoy has been known for upsetting top-seeded players in major tournaments, defeating multiple world No. 1s and Olympic medallists across his career. He played a key role in India's historic Thomas Cup triumph in 2022 at Bangkok, where India won the men's team title for the first time. His unbeaten contributions in crucial ties, including the final against Indonesia, were widely recognised.
Prannoy won the bronze medal in men's singles at the BWF World Championships 2023 held in Copenhagen, Denmark, becoming one of the few Indian men's singles players to medal at the event.
He was part of the Indian contingent at the Asian Games and won a bronze medal in the men's team event at the Asian Games 2022 (held in 2023 at Hangzhou, China). He has also represented India at the Commonwealth Games as part of the team that has consistently challenged for medals.
Prannoy made his Olympic debut at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, qualifying through the BWF Race to Paris rankings.
Prannoy has played in the Premier Badminton League (PBL) for franchises including Mumbai Rockets and Bengaluru Raptors, and has been a notable singles performer in the league.
Prannoy is regarded as an aggressive baseline player with strong smashes, well-disguised net play and a sharp tactical sense. His matches are often characterised by long rallies and the ability to outlast physically demanding opponents, traits that have led to multiple upsets over higher-ranked players.
Prannoy has spoken publicly about chronic health issues, including gastric and back problems, that affected his performance and availability over several seasons. His comeback to the top tier of men's singles after these setbacks, particularly during 2022 and 2023, has been widely noted within Indian badminton.
For his services to Indian badminton, Prannoy was conferred the Arjuna Award by the Government of India in 2023, India's second-highest sporting honour, recognising outstanding performance in sports.
Prannoy is part of a generation of Indian male shuttlers — alongside Kidambi Srikanth, B. Sai Praneeth and Lakshya Sen — who have helped raise India's profile in men's singles badminton globally. His role in the 2022 Thomas Cup victory and his individual bronze at the 2023 World Championships are considered landmark achievements both for him personally and for Indian badminton.