Priyanshu Rajawat battled from a game down to stun compatriot and 2022 champion Lakshya Sen 16-21 21-16 21-13 on the opening day of the YONEX-SUNRISE India Open 2024, underlining that his victory at last year’s Orleans Masters 300 wasn’t just a flash in the pan.

Rajawat was in a similar position against his long-time friend Sen at the 2023 Japan Open, where his more experienced opponent had come from behind to close out the game.

Experience, he reckoned, was perhaps the difference on this occasion, as he called for a vital timeout after Sen had rallied to reduce his last-game lead from 9-1 to 9-5.

“Last time (in Japan) I was in the lead too (18-14) in the third game, but from there he just played his game and didn’t give me a chance,” Rajawat said.

“That’s why in the third game here, I called for a break because I was giving away points. I just tried to slow the game down and play at my pace.”

Sen said of his early exit: “I think consistently playing my natural game, giving away too many loose points and not being able to play consistently (is costing me). I usually come in with a game plan and stick to it to some extent, but to continuously do that over three-game matches, I still have to work a lot on playing patiently, and wait for the right chances.”

Two weeks shy of turning 22, Rajawat will next take on another Indian, world No. 8 HS Prannoy who ousted long-time rival Chou Tien Chen 21-6 21-19.

“I really wanted to close it out in straight games because if it’s three games then it’s always tough with Chou, and he really pushes with his experience at the right time,” Prannoy said of his performance.

→ Results (Day 1)

→ Order of Play (Day 2)

WHAT OTHERS SAID:

“Every day it’s getting better. I’m slowly starting to get more feeling as I play frequently. I didn’t play so much before coming here because I was still recovering. Now that I’m back in this environment, it’s really good for my badminton and developing my game again. Every day is working on something and it’s like riding a bike, you never really forget but you just have to keep practising and keep doing it.” – Michelle Li after her first round loss to China’s He Bing Jiao 21-17 21-15

“Our game was definitely affected by the conditions; the shuttle was quite slow, especially in the rallies we might hit one or two attacks and it will kind of floss up and get even slower. Those rallies are even more difficult to get through. It was a matter of daring to play the big courts and believing in our defence, and not giving away too much initiative.” – Rasmus KjÆr after he and Frederik SØgaard won against Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin 21-18 21-19

“We were a bit worried after losing the first game, but we were determined to pull it back in the next game and fight till the end. Just like in our past competitions; we want to give it our best here as well.” – Nami Matsuyama after she and Chiharu Shida came from behind to defeat Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand