HS Prannoy stresses Australian Open final opponent Hong Yang is no slouch when it comes to beating big names; defeats fellow Indian Priyanshu Rajawat in semi-finals
HS Prannoy returns to Priyanshu Rajawat during their semi-final on Saturday. Pic/AFP
Star Indian shuttler HS Prannoy stormed into his second final of the season with a comprehensive straight-game win over young compatriot Priyanshu Rajawat at the Australian Open Super 500 badminton tournament here on Saturday.
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The 31-year-old Prannoy rode on his power and precision to outwit the 21-year-old Rajawat 21-18, 21-12 in the men’s singles semi-finals.
Satisfying win
“It is very satisfying [to win], because it is always tough to play continuously against the Top 10 players and beating them and if you look at the men’s singles section, somebody from 30s and 40s are also very tough these days,” Prannoy said after the win.
Weng Hong Yang
“Last two years have been good for me, I have been consistently able to pull off matches and this year has been special and I hope I can do something similar to what I did in Malaysia,” he said.
Also Read: Malaysia Masters: HS Prannoy defeats China's Weng Hong Yang, claims men's singles title
The World No. 9 Indian will square off against China’s Weng Hong Yang in the summit clash on Sunday.
Weng’s advantage
“Weng is very tricky, he can play big matches. In last six months, he has gone out there and beaten a lot of big names. So it is not easy and especially being a left-hander, he has a lot of advantage over a lot of players. But finals is a final and I will go all out tomorrow,” Prannoy said.
Interestingly, World No. 24 Weng is the same opponent whom Prannoy had defeated in the final of the Malaysia Masters to win his first individual title in six years in May.
It was also their only meeting so far in the international circuit.
With the loss, Rajawat’s impressive run this week ended with a first-ever Super 500 semi-final finish.
Prannoy has looked in supreme touch throughout the week with his stunning come-from-behind win over World No. 2 and top seed Anthony Ginting in the quarter-finals being the highlight.
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