Bahrain International Series | Priyanshu, Juhi-Venkat win titles
Getty
Indian badminton had a great day in office as young Priyanshu Rajawat staged a stunning comeback to get the better of Jason Anthony Ho-Shue 16-21, 21-7, 21-12 in the final of the Bahrain International Series. The doubles pair of Juhi Dewangan and Venkat Gaurav Prasad also lifted the title.
17-year-old Rajawat was down by a game 16-21 while facing Anthony in the summit clash of an intensified match. However, he showed some grit and intensity to make a solid comeback to win the next two games 21-7, 21-12, and clinch the title on Sunday.
Prior to the match, Rajawa had beaten second-seeded Ade Resky Dwicahyo in the pre-quarterfinals. This title win would see the young shuttler join the likes of Sameer Verma, Sourabh Verma, Sai Praneeth, Shubhankar Dey, and Guru Sai Dutt, who have all won the Bahrain International series before.
Apart from Rajawat, India also saw the mixed doubles pair of Juhi Dewangan and Venkat Gaurav Prasad finishing at the top. However, their win did see any drama as they had a straight-games 21-18, 21-16 win against Thailand’s Pannawat Theerapanitnun and Kanyanat Sudchoeichom in the match that lasted only 34 minutes.
The women’s singles match saw Ira Sharma emerging as the second-best after she lost 14-21 22-24 to Sri Fatmawati of Indonesia in the finals. The other losers were second-seeded Indian men’s doubles pair of Rohan Kapoor and Saurabh Sharma, who lost 21-19 16-21 22-24 to Thailand’s Prad Tangsripapeephan and Apichasit Teerawiwat as they ended runners-up.
