Prannoy says Asian Games likely his last, keeps LA 2028 door open

Veteran Indian shuttler H.S. Prannoy says the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games is most likely his last, but he will give himself another year to assess whether he can make a realistic bid for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Prannoy, a bronze medallist at the last edition, is part of India's 20-member badminton squad for the 20th Asian Games, which begins with the team championships on Sunday (September 20, 2026).

"This is probably my last Asian Games. I don't think I will be able to play at this level after four years," Prannoy told PTI, as reported by The Hindu. He said he was in good physical and mental shape after a decent run at the Vietnam Open. Sports.ndtv.com also reported the admission. Prannoy was part of India's silver-medal winning team in Hangzhou and said the narrow miss would motivate the team to target gold in Nagoya.

Doubles specialist Chirag Shetty called on the Indian men's team to "be raging tigers on the court" and go all out for gold. The team has retained much of its core from recent major competitions including the Thomas Cup gold. Chirag and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy head into the Games high on confidence after winning the China Open earlier this month.