Despite loss, HS Prannoy savours run to the Australian Open final
The India No.1 lost a marathon match to China’s Weng Hongyang, but was pleased with his consistency ahead of World Championships in Copenhagen later in August
History will only show that China’s Weng Hongyang won the 2023 Australian Open badminton title. It won’t record the drama, the continuous momentum shift, the stretching of physical abilities of two shuttlers who pushed their levels of endurance for 90 minutes to entertain anyone watching the men’s singles final in Sydney on Sunday.
The adrenaline was high, emotions were pumped but it was eventually nerves that decided the contest as the Chinese shuttler rallied from 14-19 down in the decider and saved a championship point to win the $420,000 tournament by beating HS Prannoy 21-9, 21-23, 22-20.
Starting favourite
Seeded sixth and having knocked out top seed Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia in the quarter-final, Prannoy started as the favourite in a repeat of the Malaysia Masters final – a 94-minute marathon – which he won in May.
In the second final of the year for both, it was Weng who seized the initiative. Playing top ranked left-handers is a rarity on the circuit, which is why southpaws have an advantage. World No.24 Weng made full use of that to pull away at the start to take a 11-6 lead. Weng started to dominate, attacking the net to pull away and win the game.
In a match of contrasting styles, it was Weng's attacking game against Prannoy’s patient play, trying to wear down his opponent. But the Thomas Cup champion had to do something drastic to turn it around.
Weng continued his attack to take points again at the start of the second game. But Prannoy’s tactic of staying in there and going for the shots at the right time slowly started reaping dividends. The world No.9 was able to take the lead for the first time in the final when he went ahead 8-7. A couple of smashes and the Indian took a 11-8 lead at the interval.
Eager to finish the match in two games, Weng rallied. Some fantastically placed shots helped the fourth highest ranked Chinese to fight back. His bullet smashes and quick-to-the-net shots were difficult for Prannoy to manoeuvre, helping the Chinese to go back in front (17-16), increasing the decibel levels inside the State Sports Centre.
“It was fun to play the high intensity match. I didn’t even realise it went on for 90 minutes. We had a lot of Indian supporters, but they were overpowered by the Chinese support for Weng which was huge,” said Prannoy.
Prannoy was on the brink of exit, just two points away from a loss while trailing 17-19. But some breathtaking badminton helped him swing the topsy-turvy game in his favour. Unperturbed by the scoreboard pressure, the sixth seed kept stretching his opponent. A deceptive crosscourt smash helped the India No.1 level the contest on his game point.
71-shot rally
The shuttler from Thiruvananthapuram maintained the momentum into the decider to surge ahead, taking a 11-8 lead. Weng’s body language suggested he was running out of steam. Prannoy didn’t mind the long rallies as he opened up a six-point gap at 15-9. At 19-14, Prannoy must have thought he had the title in the bag. But Weng hung on and just kept the bird in play, forcing a tired Prannoy to make errors and incredibly level the match at 19-all.
Amid the long exchanges was also a remarkable 71-shot rally that Prannoy lost while leading 19-17 with both collapsing on the court exhausted.
“The rally started off at high pace. Then came a position where he was retrieving all my smashes and attacking my shots. After a very long time my legs started to give up. Looking back, I could have tried different shots, put the shuttle in different directions. But everything doesn’t always fall on your side,” said Prannoy.
A net point helped Prannoy earn a championship point, but the Chinese turned the tables by winning the next three to seize the contest and his first title of the year.
Although he lost, Prannoy was satisfied with the Asia-Pacific swing of tournaments ahead of the World Championships, which will be held in Copenhagen from August 21 to 27.
“Last year we had a few good performances. It has got better this year. I am going deeper into tournaments, taking the opportunities, trying to push and convert quarters into semis, semis into finals and finals into titles. Physically I am out there too. Just have to plan tournaments for the next six months,” concluded Prannoy as he tucked into a chicken pizza and gelato to celebrate his run at the Super 500 tournament.