10 April,2023 07:52 AM IST | Orleans | PTI
Priyanshu Rajawat with his Orleans Masters trophy
India's Priyanshu Rajawat capped off an impressive week with a thrilling win in the final against Denmark's Magnus Johannesen to claim the men's singles title at the Orleans Masters here on Sunday. The Madhya Pradesh shuttler, who was part of the Indian team that registered an epic win at the 2022 Thomas Cup, saw off World No. 49 Johannesen 21-15, 19-21, 21-16 in a 68-minute summit clash to grab the biggest title of his career.
"I am very happy with my performance this week. It is my first big title and I'm extremely happy to win this," World No. 58 Rajawat, who is likely to get into top 40 after this win, told PTI from Orleans. The two shuttlers, making it to the final after coming through the qualifiers, dished out some superb badminton, but the Indian rode on his ability to produce winners to secure the world tour Super 300 crown.
It was the first meeting between the two 21-year-olds, both looking for a breakthrough win but Rajawat, who didn't drop a game in the USD 240,000 tournament, showed his maturity as he dished out a controlled aggressive game to come up trumps.
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"In the second game I was little tired and ended up making mistakes. My coach [N Anil Kumar] told me not to think too much and just keep the shuttle inside the court," Rajawat said. "I recovered from 9-14 down but a small mistake cost me the second game. In the third game, I was able to keep the mistakes low. I knew if I can keep it simple, he will give me points."
Also read: HS Prannoy, PV Sindhu to lead Indian team in Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships
Rajawat started playing the game following his brother Krunal. He was interested in football for a brief time but then badminton took over and soon he found himself in the Pullela Gopichand Academy in Gwalior. "I was there for two years but then Gopi sir called me to Hyderabad and I have been training there since 8 year old," said Rajawat.
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