India Open: Priyanshu stuns Lakshya Sen

Indian badminton sensation Priyanshu Rajawat showcased his classy performance to rally past Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen in an all-Indian clash in the ongoing India Open on Tuesday. The 21-year-old lost the opening set of the game against the Lakshya but fought back courageously to take the second and third sets to move into the 2nd round with a 16-21, 21-16, 21-13 scoreline in a match that lasted for 75 minutes. Lakshya also made a first-round exit at the Malaysia Open last week. Earlier in the day, India’s top-ranked men’s singles badminton player HS Prannoy progressed to the second round with a comfortable victory over world No. 13 Chou Tien Chen from Chinese Taipei 21-6, 21-19. In the opening game, Prannoy dominated Chen after he quickly established his rhythm. The bronze medallist at the world championship, Chen, led 16-11 at one point in the second game, which was a close contest. In the 13th head-to-head match, Prannoy, who had won a bronze medal at the world championships, battled back to win six straight points and went on to win the match in 42 minutes, marking his sixth victory. Meanwhile, India’s women’s doubles pair Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda, went down 21-7, 21-6 against Hong Kong China’s world No. 21 pair of Yeung Nga Ting-Yeung Pui Lam. The World No.2 in men’s doubles ranking, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will be in action today.