The steely resolve of Priyanshu Rajawat made the difference as he bounced back to knock out the 2022 champion Lakshya Sen from the India Open badminton tournament here on Tuesday.
Rajawat and Lakshya, friends and training partners, were engaged in a tense 75-minute battle before the former avenged his loss at last year’s Japan Open with a 16-21, 21-16, 21-13 win. Rajawat set up a second-round clash with senior training partner H.S. Prannoy.
Lakshya, yet to hit peak form after a nose surgery last year, could not challenge his younger rival in the second and third games. After losing the first, Rajawat realised the futility in attempting to match Lakshya’s speed. He smartly slowed down the pace and lengthened the rallies. The ploy of keeping the shuttle in play worked in Rajawat’s favour as Lakshya became impatient and erred repeatedly.
