Priyanshu Rajawat becomes Orleans Masters 2023 champion

The 21-year-old beat Denmark's Magnus Johanessen to clinch the title.

Priyanshu Rajawat defeated Johannessen to win his maiden BWF Tour 300 title at the Orleans Masters 2023. The victory will take Rajawat into the top 40 of the BWF singles rankings (official results to be announced soon) and shall overtake Tokyo Olympian B. Sai Praneeth to become the fourth-best ranked singles player from India.

Priyanshu Rajawat won the first set comfortably (21-15) but went down in the second set after a good fight (closing down the deficit). He came back strongly in the third and started dominating from the first point to take a six-point lead (7-1). The Denmark shuttler fought back to close the deficit to one point (8-9). The Indian looked tired in the final phase but came back strongly once again to win the set and the match.

Priyanshu had a smooth sailing en route to the final defeating higher-ranked players with ease. The youngster defeated countrymate Kiran George in the opening round and then created an upset by beating top seed and World No. 12 Kenta Nishimoto in straight sets. In the semifinals, the Indian was up against higher-ranked (top-40) Nhat Nguyen from Ireland. 

Priyanshu finished the match within 30 minutes to book his final spot at the Orleans Masters. The 21-year-old did not drop a single set till the final.

Priyanshu Rajawat has shown good signs for the past year and was also part of the 2022 Thomas Cup winning team. He was recently included in the TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) as well. The youngster did not have a good start to the 2023 season losing the opening rounds of the first three tournaments (Indonesia Masters, Thailand Masters, and Yonex Swiss Open).

After a month's break, he made a good comeback by winning the opening of the Madrid Spain Masters and winning his maiden BWF 300 title at Orleans Masters.

Priyanshu Rajawat’s performance at Orleans Masters 2023

Round of 32 - defeated Kiran George (21-18, 21-13)

Round of 16 - defeated Kenta Nishimoto (21-8, 21-16)

Quarterfinals - defeated Chi Yu Jen (21-18, 21-18)

Semifinals - defeated Nhat Nguyen (21-12, 21-9)

Final - defeated Johannessen (21-15, 19-21, 21-16)