The 31-year-old had won the Malaysia Masters, his maiden World Tour title, in May.
Prannoy in action [File Photo]
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.
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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.
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