Saina, Prannoy out of reckoning for Dubai Super Series Finals

The duo lost out on a chance to participate in the year-end tourney with a quarterfinal exit in the ongoing Hong Kong Super Series.

H. S. Prannoy lost to Japan’s Kazumasa Sakai 21-11, 10-21, 15-21 on Thursday.

India’s H. S. Prannoy and Saina Nehwal, the recently-crowned national champions, will not find a spot in the coveted Dubai Super Series Finals after having bowed out of the ongoing Hong Kong Super Series in the quarterfinals.

Prannoy, currently ranked 10 as per the Destination Dubai Rankings, needed to book a berth in the semifinals to be in the race, but he went down fighting to Japan’s Kazumasa Sakai 21-11, 10-21, 15-21 on Thursday.

Read: Sindhu storms into quarterfinals

Saina, who was ranked 11th, lost to Chen Yufei 21-18, 19-21, 10-21.

The top eight players - according to the rankings - among men and women after the current tourney will form the participants in the Dubai Super Series Finals.

K. Srikanth, India’s best-ranked male player in the sport currently, has already booked a spot courtesy his hot form that saw him clinch back-to-back titles in France and Denmark.