orld no 9 HS Prannoy, overpowered compatriot Priyanshu Rajawat in straight games to enter the final of the Australian Open Badminton in Sydney on Saturday
In the all-Indian semi-final clash, Sixth seed Prannoy defeated Priyanshu Rajawat 21-18,21-12 in 43 minutes . This is Prannoy’s second final of the 2023 BWF season.
The 31-year-old had won the Malaysia Masters, his maiden World Tour title, in May.
He will face China’s Weng Hong Yang in the final on Sunday. The world No. 24 Chinese shuttler upset Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia, a former All England champion, in his top four clash.
In the semi-final, Prannoy and Priyanshu Rajawat went toe-to-toe in the early exchanges. As the match progressed, both the players battled to gain the upper hand.
With the scores tied at 18-all, Prannoy won three consecutive points to take the lead in the match. He kept the momentum in the second game and raced to a 7-3 lead. Priyanshu however, won four consecutive points to level the scores at 7-all.
Prannoy, raised his game to go into the mid-game break with a 11-7 lead. On return, he dominated Priyanshu and won the match
to seal a berth in the final.
Prannoy now leads Orleans Masters champion Priyanshu Rajawat 2-0 in the head-to-head record.
India’s campaign in the women’s singles at the Australian Open ended after PV Sindhu crashed out in the quarter-finals on Friday.