HS Prannoy has reached his second BWF Tour final of the year after beating compatriot Priyanshu Rajawat in the semi-final of the Australian Open Super 500 event in Sydney on Saturday.

In a 43-minute match, the world No 9 came up with a 21-18, 21-12 win.

The 31-year-old took advantage of Rajawatโ€™s unforced errors in their early exchanges, taking an 11-8 lead in the first game interval. Though Rajawat, who is 10 years younger than Prannoy, managed to get back on level terms with his senior, Prannoy took charge of the final few points to win the first game 21-18.

He built on that momentum in the second game, taking an 11-7 lead at the interval before turning the screws on the tie. He eventually won the second game 21-12.

This will be Prannoyโ€™s second tour final of the year after he won the Malaysia Masters Super 500 in May.

Interestingly, Prannoyโ€™s opponent in Sundayโ€™s final will be Chinaโ€™s Weng Hong Yang, whom he had beaten in the final in Kuala Lumpur as well.

This is only the second time in his career that Prannoy has reached a BWF Tour second final in the same season. The previous occasion was in 2014 โ€“ when he reached the finals at the Vietnam Open and Indonesia Masters, winning the latter event.