Priyanshu Rajawat wins Orleans Masters 2023, beats Magnus Johannesen in final
India's Priyanshu Rajawat has created history as he won the final of the Orleans Masters 2023, after beating Denmark's Magnus Johannesen 21-15, 19-21, 21-16 on Sunday. This is Rajawat's first BWF Super 300 title, where he also beat the top seed in the competition, Japan's Kenta Nishimoto.
Throughout the tournament, he beat all players ranked above him -- Kiran George in the first round, Nishimoto in the second, Chi Yu Jen in the quarters and Nhat Nguyen in the semis on Saturday. Interestingly this happens to be the first singles title for any Indian this year, while PV Sindhu made it to the finals of the Madrid Open last week.Β
He dominated all the matches right from the start and won all of them in straight games, except for the final. In the first game, he played deceptive shots on the net and used the cross-court shots to good effect. The Indian's footwork was also lightning-quick, which added to the woes ofΒ his opponent.
Come the second game, Johannesen did show a marked improvement as he led 11-8 at the mid-game interval. Then the Indian secured seven consecutive points, but Johannesen won the game somehow.Β In the third, Rajawat started with a 5-0 lead, and it was already too late in the match for the Dane. From there on the Indian completed the match with relative ease.
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β BAI Media (@BAI_Media) April 9, 2023
Priyanshu is the menβs singles champion of #OrleansMasters2023, his first BWF World Tour Super 300 title ππ
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