Upcoming shuttler Priyanshu Rajawat came from a game down to upset Commonwealth Games gold medallist Lakshya Sen while Asian Games bronze medallist HS Prannoy packed off Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen in straight games on the opening day of the India Open Super 750 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Rajawat, who was part of the country’s 2022 Thomas Cup winning squad, showcased remarkable resilience to secure a 16-21, 21-16, 21-13 victory over his illustrious compatriot while Prannoy defeated Chou 21-6, 21-19 to advance to the second round of the tournament.
With the second men’s singles berth for the Paris Olympics up for grabs, the clash between Rajawat and Sen was always going to be the highlight of the opening day.
Former champion Sen was the first to get off the blocks as he pocketed the opening game only for Rajawat to step on the accelerator. The 21-year-old, who had lost in the only previous meeting between the two on the BWF circuit at the Japan Open 2023, then showed the maturity to extend the rallies and temper his aggression to win the 75-minute encounter.
He will now face eighth seed HS Prannoy in the second round.
Earlier, the world No 8 Prannoy dominated the opening game against Chou and then fought back from a 11-16 deficit in the second game by winning six straight points to take a 17-16 lead and then wrapped up the match in 42 minutes.
“The planning was pretty spot on in the first game,” Prannoy said after the match. “I got to understand that he was not able to get the length properly in the first game, so I had to wrap it up really quickly before he got into that rally mode.
“In the second game, as expected, he started to push the speed and was able to finish a lot of shuttles from behind. I didn’t hit really hard towards the end of the game and was trying to play softer shots.”
Meanwhile, India’s Kiran George fought valiantly but endured a 12-21, 15-21 loss against Wang Tzu-Wei of Chinese Taipei in his tournament opener.
In women’s doubles action, Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda went down against Yeung Nga Ting and Yeung Pui Lam of Hong Kong 6-21, 7-21.