Australian Open 2023 Badminton: HS Prannoy beats compatriot Priyanshu Rajawat to reach final

HS Prannoy, ranked ninth in the world, made it to the final of the BWF World Tour Super Open for the second time this year. In the Australian Open 2023 badminton championships, he defeated compatriot Priyanshu Rajawat to book a place in the final where he will face Weng Hong of China. Prannoy defeated Rajawat 21-18,21-12 in a match that lasted 43 minutes.

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Priyanshu Rajawat played well in the first game of the match and gave a tough fight to sixth seed Prannoy. In the second game, Rajawat was no match for the veteran 31-year-old, who dictated the pace of the play and hit back at Rajwat with some aggressive smashes. By this time, the World. No. 31 looked gassed out unable to catch up to the shots that forced him to go to the back of the court.

Prannoy entered the semi-finals with a 1-0 lead against world number 31 Rajawat. Earlier, Prannoy had defeated him at the Syed Modi International in 2022. Orleans Masters champion Rajawat stormed into the semi-finals of a Super 500 tournament for the first time after beating compatriot Kidambi Srikanth 21-13 21-8 in a one-sided Australian Open 2023 badminton quarter-final.

At the same time, Prannoy had to fight it out against world number two Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia. He fought back from being behind in the opening game of the 73-minute tie to win 16-21, 21-17, 21-14.

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Earlier, PV Sindhu, was beaten 21-12, 21-17 by world No. 12 Zhang in 39 minutes. Sindhu slipped to No.17 in the world rankings due to early exits in the last several tournaments. Now she will play the World Championship in Copenhagen, Denmark from 21 to 27 August. World Championship 2019 winner Sindhu has been going through a poor run of form since recovering from injury.

Australian Open 2023 badminton tournament marks his 6th quarter-final appearance in his last 8 tournaments. He solidified his position as one of the most consistent shuttlers in the men's singles field.