India's star shuttler HS Prannoy went down fighting to China's Weng Hong Yang in the Australian Open Super 500 badminton tournament's title clash held in Sydney on Sunday (August 6).
The intense showdown, which was Prannoy's second season finale, lasted for just under 89 minutes with a score of 9-21, 23-21, 20-22. Weng, the world number 24, interestingly, is the same player that Prannoy triumphed over in the Malaysia Masters final to claim his first individual title in six years this May. This was also their only encounter on the international stage thus far.
World no.24, Weng Hong Yang, began his match with a bang after defeating Malaysia's former All England champion Lee Zii Jia in the semi-finals. However, his Indian opponent HS Prannoy managed to stay close on his tail, using his experience to counter Yang's aggressive play.
The game was neck and neck until the score reached 5-5, after which Yang began to pull ahead, leading by five points going into the first break. After the break, Yang upped his game, swiftly winning the first game.
In the second game, Yang continued with the momentum from the first game and seemed set to win easily. However, Prannoy fought back and led by three points going into the break. Yang, though, managed to come back and level the game at 15-15, leading to a frantic finish.
The balance of the game kept fluctuating between the two players, until Prannoy finally nudged ahead to win the nail-biting game, pushing the match into a deciding round.
The deciding game started evenly matched, but Prannoy gradually gained the upper hand, exploiting Yang's unforced errors to lead by a score of 19-14. However, Yang showed resilience, winning five straight points to level the score. A long, 71-shot rally at 19-18 shifted the momentum in favor of Yang.
Facing immense pressure, Prannoy missed a championship point before ultimately losing the exhausting 90-minute match. This marked Yang's inaugural victory over his Indian adversary.
World no.9 Prannoy had a series of victories leading to the final. He initially defeated Cheuk Yiu Lee from Hong Kong with a score of 21-18, 16-21, 21-15. This was followed by a victory over Yu Jen Chi from Taiwan (19-21, 21-19, 21-13), and an exhilarating quarter-final triumph against Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (16-21, 21-17, 21-14).
On Saturday, the 31-year-old showcased his dominance with a comprehensive straight-game victory against 21-year-old compatriot Priyanshu Rajawat (21-18, 21-12) in the men's singles semi-finals.
The BWF World Tour consists of six levels - World Tour Finals, four Super 1000, six Super 750, seven Super 500, and 11 Super 300 tournaments, in that order. An additional category, the BWF Tour Super 100 level, also awards ranking points.
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