Priyanshu Rajawat of Hyderabad Hunters produced a stunning performance to outclass World No. 49 Lee Dong Keun as the hosts registered a stunning 4-3 win over Mumbai Rockets in an inconsequential match of the Premier Badminton League at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium here on Sunday.
Despite the victory, Hunters is virtually out of contention. It has 10 points, the same as Mumbai. Both have one match remaining.
The 18-year-old Priyanshu, whom chief National coach P. Gopi Chand rates highly, showed amazing maturity and composure. More importantly, he controlled the pace of the game with his net dribbles and telling smashes.
A trainee of the Gopi Chand Academy and ranked World No. 284, Priyanshu’s deceptive strokes caught the opponent off-guard repeatedly on the wrong foot, especially, in the second game.
Stunning result
Earlier, Hunters’ men’s combine of Ben Lane and Vladimir Ivanov lost to former World Championship doubles medallists Kim Gi Jung and Kim Sa Rang.
In men’s singles, P. Kashyap of Rockets clinched the Trump match with a clinical 15-8, 15-13 win over Daren Liew, giving his team a 2-0 lead. World No. 25 Kashyap ended his three-match losing streak in the PBL this season.
In Hunters’ Trump, World champion P.V. Sindhu won as expected against the young Shreyanshi Pardesi, taking just 20 minutes.
With the contest at 3-3, the hosts’ mixed doubles pair of Vladimir Ivanov and N. Sikki Reddy clinched the issue.
The results: Hyderabad Hunters bt Mumbai Rockets 4-3 (Ben Lane & Vladimir Ivanov lost to Kim Gi Jung & Kim Sa Rang 10-15, 8-15; Daren Liew lost to P. Kashyap (T) 8-15, 13-15; P.V. Sindhu (T) bt Shreyanshi Pardeshi 15-5, 15-10; Priyanshu Rajawat bt Lee Dong Keun 15-13, 15-9; Vladimir Ivanov & N. Sikki Reddy bt Kim Sa Rang & Pia Zebadiah 15-8, 15-8).