Indian shuttler Priyanshu Rajawat claimed his first major title by winning the Orleans Masters 2023 on Sunday, April 9, 2023.
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Indian shuttler Priyanshu Rajawat claimed his first major title by winning the Orleans Masters 2023 on Sunday, April 9, 2023. He defeated Denmark’s Magnus Johannesen 21-15, 19-21, 21-16, securing his first BWF Super 300 title. Throughout the tournament, Rajawat beat a lot of players ranked above him, including Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto, the top seed in the competition. In the semi-final, he got the better of Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen in what was a very dominating performance by 21-12, 21-9.
Interestingly, this is the first singles title for any Indian player this year. Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu made it to the finals of the Madrid Open last week. Commonwealth Games 2022 champion Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty became the winners of the Swiss Open, however it was the doubles event in which they won the title.
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Priyanshu Rajawat had a dominating run in all his matches at the Orleans Masters right from the start and won all of them in straight games, except for the final. He made effective use of cross-court shots and deceptive shots on the net in the first game. The opponent’s problems were made worse by the Indian player due to his rapid footwork. At the halfway point of the second game, Johannesen had made significant progress and was up 11-8.
However, despite Rajawat scoring seven straight points, Johannesen somehow managed to claim the victory. In the third and final game, Rajawat got off to a 5-0 lead, which made it challenging for Johannesen to catch up. Although the Irish opponent was trying for a comeback as he avoided few championship points, Rajawat didn’t let this opportunity go by winning the match by 21-16.
Priyanshu Rajawat is an athlete from the Target Olympics Podium Scheme (TOPS). He was also a part of India’s triumph at the Thomas Cup 2022. He is a member of Hyderabad’s Gopichand Academy and hails from Madhya Pradesh. Priyanshu received financial assistance towards his participation in major competitions like Swiss Open, Spain Masters, Orleans Masters, etc. and Out of Pocket Allowance under TOPS.
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