Badminton
Australian Open Final HIGHLIGHTS: HS Prannoy loses 90-minute thriller against Weng Hong Yang - Scores, updates, blog
Catch the highlights of the Australian Open Super 500 men's singles final between HS Prannoy and Weng Hong Yang from Sydney.
FILE PHOTO: HS Prannoy of India faces Weng Hong Yang of China in the Australian Open Super 500 men's singles final in Sydney on August 6, 2023. (Photo credit: HS Prannoy/Twitter)
HS Prannoy lost a gruelling 90-minute thriller against world no. 24 Weng Hong Yang in the Australian Open men's singles final at the State Sports Centre in Sydney on Sunday.
With both players being cheered by a boisterous crowd - featuring both Indian and Chinese in the audience, they put up a remarkable display of badminton.
Yang won the opening set 21-9, but Prannoy drew level at 23-21 in the second game, with the match crossing an hour mark.
In the second 30 odds minutes, Prannoy led most of the game before Yang made a turnaround of luck to save Prannoy's championship point before drawing an error from the Indian to win his maiden World Tour title.
This was Prannoy and Hong Yang's second meeting. Their previous meeting at the Malaysia Masters final also went into a three-setter, and Prannoy won that in 94 minutes.
Follow highlights:
Live Updates
- 6 Aug 2023 7:00 AM GMT
Game 1: Angled smash from Prannoy
Smash winner from Prannoy. He follows it up with a point at the net. Prannoy trails Yang 4-5.
- 6 Aug 2023 6:59 AM GMT
Game 1: 3 points lead for Yang
Prannoy plays into the net. Yang draws out Prannoy's errors and races to a 5-2 lead in the opening game.
- 6 Aug 2023 6:58 AM GMT
Game 1: Points for Prannoy
Prannoy engages Yang in net dribble; the Chinese hits the net. First point for the Indian. He gets another from a net dribble.
Yang leads 4-2.
- 6 Aug 2023 6:56 AM GMT
Game 1: Prannoy smashes into the net
Yang opens up a 3-0 lead in the opening game. Prannoy hits a toss from Yang into the net and then misjudges a lift.
- 6 Aug 2023 6:53 AM GMT
Weng Hong Yang to serve
Prannoy has craved a huge crowd of support in the final. And the spectators at the State Sports Centre in Sydney have poured in big numbers.
Weng Hong Yang will serve in the opening game.
- 6 Aug 2023 6:43 AM GMT
Prannoy in action shortly
Prannoy and Weng Hong Yang will be in action at Court 1 in the men's singles final shortly.
Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong win the women's doubles title in straight games.
The Koreans beat China's Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning 21-18, 21-16.
- 6 Aug 2023 6:01 AM GMT
Prannoy vies for 2nd World Tour title
Prannoy, at 31, has emerged as India's most consistent men's singles player on the World Tour this year, just ahead of the World Championships in Copenhagen.
At ninth, he is India's highest-ranked male in men's singles world rankings and the only Indian to be ranked in top 10 of the discipline.
This year, Prannoy has reached three semifinals, including the Australian Open. At the Indonesia Open in June, he made a third-place finish.
He will play his second final on the World Tour 2023 at the Australian Open. Prannoy won the Malaysia Masters Super 500 men's singles title in May.
- 6 Aug 2023 5:46 AM GMT
Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping win Australian Open mixed doubles title
Chinese mixed doubles duo of Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping win the Australian Open Super 500 mixed doubles title. The world no. 3 pair beat Hiroki Midorikawa and Natsu Saito of Japan 21-14, 16-21, 21-15.
- 6 Aug 2023 5:10 AM GMT
Beiwen Zhang wins women's singles title
Beiwen Zhang of the USA wins the Australian Open women's singles title. Zhang beats Kim Ga Eun of South Korea 20-22, 21-16, 21-8.
This is 33-year-old Zhang's second World Tour title. Her last title - the India Open in 2018 - was also her first.
- 6 Aug 2023 5:04 AM GMT
Prannoy on Hong Yang
"Hong Yang is very tricky. In the last six months, he beat several big names. Being left-handed, he has an advantage. But I will go all in the final."
