India's top shuttler HS Prannoy capped off an impressive week by reaching the Australian Open men's singles final, where he ultimately finished second to China's Weng Hong Yang. The match ended in a tight 9-21, 23-21, 20-22 defeat for Prannoy, denying him his second BWF title of the season. Weng, the 24-year-old winner of the 2019 China Masters and last year's Korea Open, used this win to settle the score after losing a marathon final to Prannoy at the Malaysia Masters in May.
Indian star shuttler HS Prannoy finished second to China’s Weng Hong Yang in the Australian Open men’s singles final on Sunday, capping off an outstanding week. Prannoy was defeated 9-21, 23-21, 20-22 by world no.24 Weng, depriving him of a chance to capture his second BWF title of the season. With the victory, Weng, 24, who won the Korea Open last year and the 2019 China Masters, closed the gap on Prannoy after losing in three games to the Indian in the Malaysia Masters final in May.
Prannoy has a proven track record of fighting back this year, having won six out of eight matches in which he dropped the first set, including a key win over World No. 2 Anthony Ginting in the quarterfinals. He appeared to be on the verge of victory until Weng produced a stunning rally to recover from a 14-19 deficit in the deciding set.
Despite being 31, the Indian star showed great grit by recovering from an initial first-game loss. However, he struggled to close the match, wasting a five-point cushion and a championship point in the final set. The first game was particularly rough for Prannoy, whose frequent mistakes allowed Weng to dominate with jump smashes after the score was tied at 6-6. Prannoy's consistency wavered as he repeatedly hit the net, giving the Chinese player 12 game points. Weng capitalized on every long shot Prannoy sent over.
While Prannoy usually thrives under pressure, this match highlighted some of his nerves. Although Weng jumped to an early 3-0 lead, Prannoy fought back with a powerful smash to make it 2-4. He eventually leveled the score at 7-7 and seized the lead after a forehand error from Weng, which he immediately punished with another smash. By the time they reached the interval, Prannoy had established a three-point lead thanks to a leaping forehand smash.
Weng displayed some brilliant precision, but Prannoy held his ground at 13-11 with a sharp cross-court winner. The Chinese player stayed aggressive at the baseline, relentlessly pressing Prannoy until he tied the game at 15-15 with a body smash. Weng then regained the lead at 17-16 by attacking Prannoy's forehand. Following several high-intensity rallies, the score stood at 19-19 just as Weng took a medical timeout.
Returning to the court, Prannoy attempted a sharp backhand for the match point, but the shuttle landed wide. He nearly clinched it again after a desperate diving save to his left, but Weng saved the point with a deep cross-court smash. Although Prannoy built a comfortable lead in the third set with two clinical returns to the backhand, a few costly unforced errors opened the door for Weng to surge back and secure the win.