Rajawat and Prannoy enter second round

New Delhi: Talented shuttler Priyanshu Rajawat shocked Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen in an all-Indian clash to join HS Prannoy in the second round of the India Open Super 750 badminton tournament here on Tuesday.

Rajawat, world no. 30, rallied from a game down to edge out an erratic Sen, ranked 19th, 16-21 21-16 21-13 in a 75-minute opening round match here.

It was a second straight first-round exit for Sen, which further jeopardises his Olympic qualification chances.

Prannoy, the world No.9 Indian, dished out a compact game to outwit Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei, ranked 13th, 21-6 21-19 in a 42-minute match at the KD Jadhav Indoor hall earlier in the day.

Prannoy will take on Rajawat in the second round.

“The planning was spot on in the first game. I was executing good shots from back of the court. He was not getting the length well, so I had to wrap it up,” Prannoy said after the match.

“In the second game, he was pushing the speed and finishing a lot of shuttle from the back but I was happy to fight back from 11-16 and towards the end, I was playing the right game.

“It was important to close it in two games because if it is the third game, then it is always a tough one as he (Chen) pushes with his experience.”