Asianet NewsableAsianet Newsable

Prannoy wins Malaysia Masters title, Kerala shuttler breaks jinx

Star Indian shuttler HS Prannoy defeated China's Weng Hong Yang in the men's singles finals, snapping a six-year title drought at the Malaysia Masters Super 500 tournament. He defeated China's world number 34 Weng Hong Yang, a bronze medalist at the 2022 Asian Championships, by the scores of 21-19, 13-21, and 21-18 in a 94-minute contest.

Prannoy wins Malaysia Masters title, Kerala shuttler breaks jinx anr
Author
First Published May 29, 2023, 10:12 AM IST

At the Malaysia Masters Super 500 tournament on Sunday (May 28), star Indian shuttler HS Prannoy defeated China's Weng Hong Yang in the men's singles finals, snapping a six-year title drought.

The 30-year-old Indian defeated China's world number 34 Weng Hong Yang, a bronze medalist at the 2022 Asian Championships, by the scores of 21-19, 13-21, and 21-18 in a 94-minute contest.

Also read: 'Inauguration of New Parliament building organized like religious function': Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan

The victory enabled him to earn the first singles crown for India and his first BWF (Badminton World Federation) World Tour crown.

Six tiers make up the BWF World Tour: World Tour Finals, four Super 1000s, six Super 750s, seven Super 500s, and eleven Super 300s. The BWF Tour Super 100 level is another tournament level that awards ranking points.

The Super 500 is a Grade 2 (level 4) event in the BWF tournament ranking system.  Prannoy played a key role in India's historic Thomas Cup victory last year, but he hasn't won an individual championship since winning the 2017 US Open Grand Prix Gold.

The Kerala shuttler came close to ending his title drought when he made it to the Swiss Open finals the previous year and dropped out after reaching the semifinals in Malaysia and the Indonesia Super 1000.

Prannoy battled a series of injuries and health issues before turning his career around at the back end of 2021.
    
In the last two years, he has been the most consistent Indian player in the circuit and yet he was not able to weave it all together in a week to win a big title in the BWF World Tour events.
     
On Sunday, all his hard work paid off as the world number nine Prannoy finally broke the jinx, dishing out a superlative performance against the 23-year-old from China in a battle of attrition.
    
This week, Prannoy gave ample display of his physical and mental fortitude as he outfoxed his opponents -- world number five Chou Tien Chen, All England champion Li Shi Feng and Japan's Kenta Nishimoto -- in three games.

Also read: New Parliament Inauguration: Why parties in Kerala are calling it a 'black day' for democracy?

Follow Us:
Download App:
  • android
  • ios