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Emerging Indian badminton star Priyanshu Rajawat defeated Denmark's Magnus Johannesen in the final of the Men's Singles event at the Orleans Masters 2023 in France.
Priyanshu Rajawat clinched his maiden World Tour title in his first-ever appearance in the final. He was also a member of the historic Indian team that won the 2022 edition of the Thomas Cup.
He is the second Indian to win the Orleans Masters title. The first to win the title was Anand Pawar, who hails from Mumbai. He won the title in 2012 by defeating Malaysia's Misbun Ramdan Mohmed Misbun 21-16 and 21-10 in two games.
Priyanshu defeated Kiran George in the first round with scores of 21-18 and 21-13. The Indian shuttler dominated the second round too, having defeated Japanese shuttler Kenta Nishimoto 21-8 and 21-6 to progress to the quarter-finals.
He squared off against Chinese Taipei's Chi Yu Jen in his quarter-final bout. He won both games with twin scores of 21-18 to book a berth in the semis. The 21-year-old dominated once again as he defeated Irish badminton player Nhat Nguyen in a one-sided contest with scores of 21-12 and 2-19.
Priyanshu was up against Denmark's Magnus Johannesen in the decider of the Men's Singles event at the Orleans Masters 2023 in France. He won the first game 21-15 but lost the 2nd one by a couple of points to the Danish shuttler. It was all down to the final game to decide the winner of the Men's Singles event at the Orleans Masters 2023.
Priyanshu Rajawat was at his best in the final game as he won it 21-16 to win the match as well as the Orleans Masters title. This win would boost the youngster's confidence as he has a lot to contribute to the country in the coming years.
His current ranking is 58 as of 4th April 2023. However, with him having won the Orleans Masters title, he is expected to break into the top 40 of the world rankings.
Twitterati reacts to Priyanshu Rajawat's maiden World Tour title at the Orleans Masters 2023 in France
Here are a few reactions from the fans:
