India's ace shuttler H.S. Prannoy fell short in the finals match of the Australia Open 2023 men's singles title on Sunday in a dramatic fashion.
World No. 24 Chinese shuttler Weng Hongyang had a hard-fought victory in a battle that lasted for three games. Hongyang started the game on a strong foot as he kept the Indian struggling for points.
Prannoy found it hard to claim points and ended up losing the first game by 21-9. The drastic difference in the first game indicated that the Chinese shuttler would walk away with an easy victory in the finals.
But Prannoy fought back with a different swagger in his game and bounced back to bring the game back to parity at 23-21. Prannoy used most of the momentum from the second game and led the third game for the majority of the time. He had a two-point lead advantage with the score reading 19-17.
Hongyang made a strong comeback to square the game level at 20-20. Hongyang held onto his nerves to claim the final two points and the Australia Open title by 22-20.
Earlier in the tournament, Prannoy produced a fine performance at the Quaycentre Court 1 to defeat compatriot Priyanshu Rajawat in straight games in the semifinal.
Prannoy overwhelmed world No. 31 Rajawat 21-18, 21-12 to make his second final of the 2023 BWF season.
Both Indian shuttles Prannoy and Rajawat went toe-to-toe in the all-Indian semifinal encounter. As the match progressed, both Indian badminton players competed to gain an advantage.
With the scores tied at 18-all, Prannoy won three consecutive points to take the lead in the match.
Prannoy maintained his lead in the second game, racing to a 7-3 lead. Rajawat, on the other hand, won four consecutive points to tie the game at 7-all.
The 31-year-old Prannoy, on the other hand, stepped up his game and led 11-7 at the half. Prannoy crushed Rajawat, winning the match in 43 minutes.
