BWF Malaysia Masters 2023 Finals. HS Prannoy is the only Indian in the final at Malaysia. (FILE)
Badminton Malaysia Masters 2023 Finals Highlights, (HS Prannoy vs Weng Hong Yang): India’s HS Prannoy won his first title at the BWF World Tour level on Sunday as he beat China’s Weng Hong Yang in the men’s singles final in three games, prevailing 21-19, 13-21, 21-18 in one hour, 34 minutes.
The Indian shuttler had made it to the men’s singles final after his opponent Christian Adinata of Indonesia conceded the semifinal match following a nasty knee injury. World number 9 Prannoy was leading 19-17 when Adinata lost his footing while landing after a jump return and his left knee buckled, leaving the Indonesian shuttler grimacing in pain. China’s Weng Hong Yang, meanwhile, overcame Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chun-Yi in the semi-final.
This was Prannoy’s first final of the season and his second since he was the runner-up at the Swiss Open last year.
Meanwhile, double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu couldn’t make it to the women’s singles final after suffering a 14-21, 17-21 loss to Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung.
Scroll down to catch all the Highlights.
India's H. S. Prannoy returns a shot during his men's singles semifinals match against Indonesia's Christian Adinata at the Malaysia Masters badminton tournament at Bukit Jalil Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Saturday, May 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Kien Huo)
First round: Beats sixth seeded Chou Tien Chen 16-21, 21-14, 21-13 in one hour, four minutes
1:04
Second Round: Beats Li Shi Feng 13-21, 21-16, 21-11 in in one hour, 10 mins
Quarters: Defeats Japan's Kenta Nishimoto 25-23, 18-21, 21-13 in one hour, 31 minutes
Semis: Christian Adinata of Indonesia has a freak injury withdraws after 27 minutes.
Final: Beats Weng Hong Yang 21-19, 13-21, 21-18 in one hour, 34 minutes
The Indian beats China's Weng Hong Yang 21-19, 13-21, 21-18 after 93 minutes.
WHAT A MOMENT FOR HIM.
Prannoy staring at some personal history. He leads 20-18.
Weng lets a shuttle drop and it's flown long. Not the first time, Prannoy had hit it out. The drift playing tricks with him.
HS Prannoy is leading 18-17 in Game 3 with the endgame appearing in sight. Just three more points for the Indian.
The Indian is leading 11-10 at the mid-game interval of the third game against China's Weng Hong Yang in men's singles final
After trailing 2-5 in the decider, Prannoy picks up two points with some resolute rallying to come to 4-5.
But once again the Chinese player puts points between him and the chasing Indian. Prannoy hits two thundering cross-court smashes to come within two points of the Chinese at 6-8. Then, a great bit of judgement sees him win one more point.
And he completes the comeback with another smash! 8-8 in the decider!!
The Indian dropped the second game 13-21.
Weng does force a decider. Third set is Prannoy territory but he will need to hit through Weng
Everything Prannoy is doing in this game is going wrong. His smashes are flying long. His net game seems vulnerable. He trails 11-17 in Game 2.
Make that 15-10 for the Chinese as Prannoy errs on the net.
The Chinese player is racing ahead now, leading 14-10 after leading at mid-game interval.
The Indian draws level at 9-9 in the second game after trailing for a while. He's determined to win a title today!
Prannoy looking good here to pick his first title, taking the opening set. A push from the net teases out the error from Weng. Don't see him being dragged into a third here. He's going to want to try wrap this in two.
After 31 minutes, HS Prannoy has claimed the first game 21-19 against Weng Hong Yang
After a big rally, Prannoy slaps a drop shot across the net. He thinks he has won hte point, but the chair umpire signals that he crossed the net while hitting the shuttle.
Prannoy's attack is what he's known for, but it's his scrambling dive defense that's given him a narrow 11-10 edge here against Weng
The Indian has refrained from hitting the big smashes so far, preferring instead to play out rallies while the Chinese looking to hit winners.
A pattern emerging in this match. Weng taking two points lead at 7-5, Prannoy pulling level at 7-7. The Chinese player leading 9-7 then. Prannoy coming back 9-9 again.
Weng took a 7-5 lead after a shot that caught the netcord and fell into Prannoy's side. The Indian dived full length to try and return it but could not!
Weng took a 3-1 lead in the first game before Prannoy stepped on the accelerator and clawed back two more points to draw level.
Both players start the first point by testing each other's range. Finally the Chinese player wins the first point.
The Malaysian pair, which has struggled to stand up at times during this final, has finally been defeated.
Malaysia's Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan, who have the entire stadium backing them, are on the verge of losing the game. Both players have had issues with injuries and fatigue. And then they played out a 143-shot rally! Both players collapsed to the ground after that rally! Tinaah is having trouble standing up. She's throwing up. But the pair still decide to play out the last point.
.
Malaysia's Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan, lifted by the vociferous home crowd, have drawn level with South Korea's Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee. They claim game 2 21-8 after losing the first game 20-22.
South Korea's Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee take the first game 22-20 against Malaysia's Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan.
Weng Hong Yang is a 23-year-old southpaw Chinese. He's won the Korea Open in 2022, defeating Jonatan Christie in the finals. He has wins against Kidambi Srikanth and Anthony Ginting, and a bronze from Asian Championship. This is his 4th career final on the Tour, he won 2 and lost 1 incidentally to Lakshya Sen. Like Prannoy, Weng has beaten some big names on the way to the final like Kento Momota, Anthony Ginting, Ng ka long Angus and Lin Chun-Yi in the semis. He's currently ranked 34, but has been as high as 23.
South Korea's Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee take on Malaysia's Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan in the final.
This was a breeze for the Japanese shuttler! She barely broke into a sweat in the final. Akane Yamaguchi beats Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 21-17, 21-7 in women's singles final.
A score of 21-7 in a final shows how good she was today! But for the youngster Tunjung, who is just 23, this has been a promising tournament.
Akane Yamaguchi leads 11-2 in game 2 after claiming Game 1 with a 21-17 margin. Tunjung has seemed out of sorts so far.
What a blockbuster first game! Akane Yamaguchi takes it 21-17 against Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung. There is just the feeling that there is more life left in this game.
The drift will favour the Indonesian in game 2. Let's see if she can even the scores. Most singles players prefer to play into the drift!
After an incredibly fiesty mixed doubles game, it's time for the women's singles game between Japan's Akane Yamaguchi and Indonesian Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, who had brought down Sindhu earleir.
The Thai pair lost the first game. After clawing back in Game 2, they were trailing 17-18 against China's Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping in the decider. But they fought their way to a victory with four consecutive points at the end.
China's Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping are leading 18-17 against Thailand's second seeds Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai in the decider.
KNIFE'S EDGE!!!
We're at 11-11 in the mixed doubles decider! The Thai pair have found the net cord a few times and made the shuttle tumble across the net. Is that luck, or just incredible placement?
The fourth seeds from China Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping are leading 11-9 against Thailand's second seeds Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai in the decider.
BY SHIVANI NAIK: The Sudirman Cup campaign might’ve proven to be disappointing for India but a year on from the Thomas Cup triumph, the greatest legacy remains the depth in men’s singles in Indian badminton. Converting this plethora of contenders into a substantial Olympic challenge would mean having two shuttlers in the Top 16 of world rankings by this time next year through the Paris Games qualification cycle. Two spots; anything less will count as a disappointment given the sheer numbers in contention.
READ: Hurdles in Olympic dreams – HS Prannoy: ability to go distance, Kidambi Srikanth: lack of consistency, Lakshya Sen: fitness
What an incredibly dogged fight we are seeing i nthe mixed doubles final between China's Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping, who are seeded fourth, and Thailand's second seeds Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai. We're in the third game after the Chinese pair won the first game and then dropped the second.
HS Prannoy had to overcome massive hurdles to enter the final at Malaysia.
In the first round itself, he faced sixth seeded Chou Tien Chen, who he beat in three hard-fought games.
In round 2, he beat Li Shi Feng, once again after three games.
In the quarters, he needed three games to defeat Japan's Kenta Nishimoto.
In the semis, he was leading when Christian Adinata of Indonesia had a freak injury and needed to withdraw.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Malaysia Masters final, where India's HS Prannoy will be in action shortly. It has not been a very good year so far for Indian shuttlers on the BWF Tour. Can the World No 9 turn the tide?
He takes on China's Weng Hong Yang today.