Malaysia Masters: HS Prannoy defeats Weng, wins maiden BWF World Tour Title

After winning his first BWF World Tour title, India’s HS Prannoy recalls undergoing a tough period of self-doubt since his 2017 US Open Grand Prix Gold triumph before chief national coach P Gopichand pushed him

Star Indian shuttler HS Prannoy ended a six-year-long title drought with a three-game win over China’s Weng Hong Yang in a pulsating men’s singles final at the Malaysia Masters Super 500 tournament on Sunday. The 30-year-old Indian showed great composure and resolve during a 94-minute battle to notch a 21-19, 13-21, 21-18 victory against China’s World No. 34 Weng Hong Yang, a 2022 Asian Championships bronze medallist. The win helped him claim his maiden BWF World Tour title and also the first singles crown of the year for India.

Long wait for singles title

Prannoy was instrumental in India’s epic Thomas Cup victory last year, but an individual title has eluded him since the 2017 US Open Grand Prix Gold. The Kerala shuttler had come close to breaking his title drought when he reached the final at the Swiss Open last year and signed off at the semi-final stage in Malaysia and the Indonesia Super 1000. Prannoy battled a series of injuries and health issues before turning his career around in the back end of 2021.

Weng Hong Yang

“I think there are too many emotions. The last six years have been too much of a rollercoaster. I didn’t expect that it will happen after six years to be honest. I mean if you would have asked me in 2017 I don’t think I would have told you that I will win in 2023. So, lots of mixed emotions,” Prannoy said after the title triumph. “Thanks to all the coaches, support staff and Gopi sir [chief national coach Pullela Gopichand]. He kept telling me that it will happen one day and I should keep believing,” he added.

Also Read: Malaysia Masters: India's HS Prannoy enters final after opponent retires mid-game

The 30-year-old Prannoy, who is ranked ninth in the world and India’s best at the moment, also thanked his former teammate RMV Gurusai Dutt (who turned to coaching after retiring in June last year) for helping him out in his hour of need. “Thanks to Guru, last four months we have worked really hard and the results finally came out.”  He said he has not slept well in the last three days. “I haven’t been sleeping well for the last three days, my team were a bit worried that I am not sleeping. There was so much emotion, you are excited to come out and play in front of this beautiful crowd.”

P Gopichand

Prannoy gave ample display of his fortitude as he outfoxed his opponents—World No. 5 Chou Tien Chen, All England champion Li Shi Feng and Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto—in three games on way to the title clash. “The draw was really tough for me, I had tough matches. I had to really dig deep in the four matches. It all went to the wire. It shows how much I was patient and my fitness was also decent.

Slow conditions

“To beat such players is not easy. The conditions were slow and I had to hang in there and I did that. The first thing is to keep aside the competition within ourselves, the competition is with myself. I think it is really important for me to be consistent whatever I do and results will follow. It [the triumph] gives a lot of insights. When you dig deep and win such matches, that helps you find a lot of hidden gems, you will be discovering those after a long time and realise that you can do that,” he said.

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