Australian Open: HS Prannoy Goes Down Fighting to Weng Hong Yang in Final

India’s HS Prannoy lost to Weng Hong Yang on China in the final of the Australian Open Super 500 badminton tournament in Sydney on Sunday.

In his second final of the season, the Indian badminton star went down fighting 9-21, 23-21, 20-22 in jujst under 1 hour and 29 minutes.

Eight times this year, Prannoy has recovered from an opening game loss and went on to claim the match six times like he did against World number 2 Anthony Ginting in the quarterfinals.

The script seemed to be going the same way before Weng staged a sensational comeback from 14-19 down in the decider.

The 31-year-old from Kerala bounced back from an opening game reversal but squandered a five-point lead in the decider and also a championship point to eventually finish second to Weng.

Prannoy was error-prone in the first game, while Weng used his jump smashes to good effect to pull away from 6-6. With the Indian continuing to miscue his shots, the Chinese grabbed 12 game points when Prannoy again sprayed into net. The Chinese converted it when Prannoy went long.

Prannoy relishes such pressure cooker situation and once again showed his nerves. Weng opened up a 3-0 lead but the Indian made it 2-4 with a booming smash.

Prannoy evened things at 7-7 with a smash and went into the lead after Weng’s forehand went wide and Prannoy followed it with another smash. The Indian grabbed a three-point cushion with a forehand jump smash at the break.

Weng managed to hang in there with some fine placement but Prannoy kept his nose ahead at 13-11 with another cross winner. The Chinese kept breathing down his rival’s neck with another push at the backline and clawed back at 15-15 with a body smash.

Weng produced a smash on Prannoy’s forehand and soon wrested back the lead at 17-16. After a series of intense rallies, the duo was locked at 19-19 when Weng took a medical timeout.

On resumption, Prannoy unleashed a whipping backhand to grab a game point but he went wide. The Indian gained another game point after making a diving save on his left. Weng once again saved it with a deep cross smash.

At 21-21, Weng’s forehand smash went wide to hand Prannoy his third game point and this time the Indian prevailed in a flat net exchange to take the match to the decider.

In the third game, Prannoy opened up a 6-3 lead with two precise returns on the backhand of his rival. But a few unforced errors from the Indian helped Weng to narrow it to 6-7.

Prannoy moved to 10-7 with another straight smash before entering the interval with a three point cushion. The Indian continued to march ahead with Weng committing too many errors. He also send down a precise straight smash to make it 15-9.

Prannoy patiently waited for opportunities and soon moved to 17-14. The Indian then unleashed another booming straight smash before coming up with a cross winner to make it 19-14.

Weng won the next three points and then played an exhausting 71-shot rally as Prannoy sent the shuttle to the net before both the shuttlers collapsed to the court.

Weng showed nerves of steel as a superb drop helped him to claw back at 19-19, his fifth straight point.

Prannoy then won a net duel to grab a championship point but Weng saved the point with a lucky net cord.

The Chinese then gained a championship point with a smash that crammed the Indian, who send the shuttle long next to hand over the title to Weng.

Interestingly, world number 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.

The World number 9 Prannoy defeated Cheuk Yiu Lee of Hong Kong 21-18, 16-21, 21-15 in the first round, followed it yup defeating Yu Jen Chi of Taiwan 19-21, 21-19, 21-13. In the quarter-final, he got the better of Indonesia’s Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 16-21, 21-17, 21-14.

On Saturday, the 31-year-old rode on his power and precision to outwit with a comprehensive straight-game win over the 21-year-old compatriot Priyanshu Rajawat 21-18 21-12 in the men’s singles semifinals.

The BWF World Tour is divided into six levels, namely World Tour Finals, four Super 1000, six Super 750, seven Super 500, and 11 Super 300 in order. One other category of tournament, the BWF Tour Super 100 level, also offers ranking points.

The Super 500 is a Grade 2 (level 4) event in the BWF tournament ranking system.

(With inputs from Agencies)