Welcome to Sportstar’s highlights of the Orleans Masters men’s singles final between India’s Priyanshu Rajawat and Magnus Johannesen of Denmark, taking place in France. This was Netra.V taking you through the action as it unfolded.
| Priyanshu Rajawat (IND) defeats Magnus Johannesen (DEN) 21-15, 19-21, 21-16 |
THIRD GAME
- 21-16 Priyanshu ends the match with serve as Magnus is unable to retaliate!
- 19-13 Priyanshu defends but fails to control a wide.
- 19-12 Priyanshu never seemed to have lost control of this game and it shows in the lack of errors made by the Indian this game.
- 17-11 The Dane hits one onto the net witha six point gap favouring the Indian.
- 15-10 A down the line smash leaves Magnus with five points to close in.
- 13-9 A four point gap is ensured as the Indian takes his time to serve.
- 11-9 Priyanshu manages to lead by two points but is still not at a secure position.
- 9-9 Scores are equalised as the Indian is seen making several errors near the net
- 8-7 Magnus moves the Indian all around the court only for Priyanshu to hit yet another one to the net
- 8-6 Yet another ‘Priyanshu hit the net’ shot
- 7-5 Slice drop shot by Magnus leads to Priyanshu hitting one on the net.
- 7-4 The Dane capitalises on the Indian’s wide
- 6-2 Magnus finally gains as Priyanshu hits one onto the net after a long rally.
- 5-0 Five consecutive points earned by the Indian after the short break and talk with his coach.
SECOND GAME
- 19-21 Magnus gets through as Priyanshu leaks yet another set of errors.
- 17-20 Priyanshu’s errors proves to be extremely costly as Magnus is one point away from winning the second game.
- 17-18 A brilliant rally is stopped as Priyanshu hits one on net
- 16-15 After seven consecutive points for the Indian, Magnus gets one.
- 15-14 Priyanshu takes the lead finally. Will he be able to maintain it?
- 14-14 Five consecutive points for the Indian as the parity is finally restored with the Danish struggling to regain control.
- 9-14 A completely one-sided contest in this game till now and it’s not the Indian leading.
- 8-11 Trailing behind three points, the Indian will have to minimise his wides and net errors to restore parity and take on the lead later.
- 8-9 Priyanshu jump smashes one cross court and Magnus is unable to receive it.
- 5-8 Unforced errors by Priyanshu seem to increase as the second game progresses.
- 3-6 Four consecutive points from Magnus and the Indian has to change his plans to catch up with the Dane.
- 3-2 Magnus hits one wide as the Indian takes the lead again.
- 1-2 Priyanshu takes the early lead, however, the Dane charges ahead with back to back points.
FIRST GAME
- 21-15 Priyanshu comes from a minor set back as he wins the first games,
- 18-15 Four consecutive points for the Dane as Priyanshu starts making errors
- 18-11 Magnus fails to retain composure as he is unable to return Priyanshu’s serve.
- 16-11 Magnus has to find answers to Priyanshu’s cross court smashes that come his way.
- 13-9 A rally by the net ended as the Indian hit a fast and straight smash near the net making it hard for Magnus to react.
- 12-9 A straight jump smash by Priyanshu is too difficult for Magnus to return.
- 10-8 A loose backhand shot by the Dane proves to costly as Priyanshu receives it and how
- 8-7 Magnus is deceived by the Indian as he leaves one just for it to be called in
- 6-6 Parity is restored again as Priyanshu’s backhand goes wide off the side line.
- 5-5 The Indian’s ability to make Magnus move around the court helps him equalise.
- 2-5 The Dane seems to be making the best of Priyanshu’s inability to read his shots.
- 2-2 Priyanshu’s straight smash loses him a point as it goes wide
- 1-0 The Indian gets first blood as Magnus’ attempt to play near the net is unsuccessful.
- India’s Priyanshu wins the toss and chooses to serve!
Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei of Malaysia defeated Ye Hong Wei/Lee Chia Hsin of Chinese Taipei 21-19, 21-17 in the mixed doubles final.
HEAD TO HEAD RECORD - This is the first time the Indian and the Danish are up against each other.
DID YOU KNOW?- Anand Pawar is the only Indian who has won in any category in Orleans. Pawar won the men’s singles title in 2012 when the tournament was sanctioned as International Series. From 2018 to 2022, the tournament was raised to a Super 100 level while 2023 is the first time it is a Super 300 level event.
World Ranking as of April 4, 2023
Priyanshu Rajawat - World No 58
Magnus Johannesen-World No 49
Here’s how Priyanshu Rajawat reached the Orleans Masters finals -
Semifinal - Won 21-12, 21-9 against Nhat Nguyen (IRE)
Quarterfinal - Won 21-18, 21-18 against Chi Yun Jen (TPE)
Round of 16 - Won 21-8, 21-16 against top seed Kenta Nishimoto (JPN)
First Round - Won 21-18, 21-13 against Kiran George (IND)
PREVIEW
India’s Priyanshu Rajawat stormed into the finals of the Orleans Masters Super 300 badminton tournament with a straight-games demolition of Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen on Saturday.
The 21-year-old, who was part of the India team that won the 2022 Thomas Cup, will face Denmark’s Magnus Johannesen in the summit clash. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two shuttlers.
While Rajawat has reached the final without dropping a game in any of his four matches, Johannesen has had to work extremely hard. The Dane was twice taken to a deciding third game - during his round of 16 match against Indonesia’s Christian Adinata (Johannesen won 22-24, 21-16, 23-21) and semifinal against China’s Lei Lax Xi (Johannesen won 10-21, 21-15, 21-19).
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