HS Prannoy has been lined up for the men’s singles game in India’s opening group round of the Sudirman Cup against Denmark’s Anders Antonsen at Xiamen, China.
The order of play reads: Tanisha Crasto -Dhruv Kapila in mixed doubles vs Jesper xx – Amalie xx, as Indian captains shoulder the first challenge. Prannoy has been fielded against Antonsen (no Viktor Axelsen for Denmark) in second match. This is likely to start a huge debate, given Lakshya Sen is also in the squad. However India tends to think long-term and will most likely field Sen in a better matchup against Jonathan Christie in the Indonesia tie.
The men’s doubles is a serious question mark for India next, with talented rookies Hariharan and Ruban set to take on Kim Astrup and Anders Sxxx. PV Sindhu slots in for the key fourth match – most likely pivotal against Line Kjaersfeldt, while Tanisha will be back on court against Natasha – Boje alongside Shruti Mishra in the final women’s doubles match.
India are severely hamstrung in absence of Satwik-Chirag and Treesa-Gayatri, out by illness and injury. But Denmark are vulnerable too with no Axelsen or Mia Blitchfeldt in singles.
Head coach Kenneth Larsen has also moved to Malaysia.
However, things got interesting on a Sunday morning, when a fan handle @Arya Keshav asked two AI models, Perplexity and Grok for their take on whether Prannoy or Sen were better suited in the match up.
In a hilarious happening, Grok and Perplexity spat out two opposite answers, both based on objective facts.
Perplexity favoured Sen to get the job done, while Grok gave Prannoy a better likelihood of beating Antonsen, thys underlining importance of human selectors.
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Prannoy is ranked 30 and Antonsen, 3. In previous encounters, Prannoy leads 2-1, though Antonsen won the last match in straight 14, 11.
AskPerplexity wrote to Keshav on Twitter: “Based on recent form, Lakshya Sen appears to have a slight edge over HS Prannoy when facing Anders Antonsen right now. Prannoy has struggled with fitness and early exits lately, including a first-round loss at the Badminton Asia Championships and a dip in form after illness, while Lakshya has had some notable wins-like reaching the All England Open quarterfinals-though he’s also had some inconsistency.”
Perplexity noted that Sen had lost his last match to Antonsen too – in straight, 18, 15. Sen, ranked No 18 trails 2-5 in head to head.
Perplexity added: “In their recent head-to-head, Antonsen beat Lakshya Sen in straight games at the China Masters, but Sen’s defense and ability to push top players remain (his) strengths. Overall, given Prannoy’s current struggles and Lakshya’s flashes of high-level play, Lakshya Sen might be the better bet against Antonsen at the moment.”
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Grok too noted that both Indians were struggling against Antonsen in recent times, but learnt on Pranno’s experience and it likely to be a brainy pitting of wits.
“HS Prannoy likely has a slight edge over Lakshya Sen against Anders Antonsen at the Sudirman Cup 2025. Both players are struggling, with early exits at the 2025 India Open and Badminton Asia Championships. Prannoy’s experience and ranking (world No. 30) give him an advantage, despite limited head-to-head data with Antonsen. Sen has a 2-4 (2-5 actually) record against Antonsen, including losses in 2024. However, both players’ recent form makes the outcome uncertain. Prannoy’s tactical play may counter Antonsen’s aggression better than Sen’s defensive style,” Grok wrote.
India looking to tease out at least a 3-2 edge despite being severely understaffed, will how Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto give them a good start, and Prannoy and Sindhu pull their weight.
