About
Born on 1 February 2002, Priyanshu Rajawat is an accomplished Indian badminton player who played a key role in India's victory in the 2022 Thomas Cup. Priyanshu has been a trainee at the Pullela Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad since 2010, where he learned to model his game after senior peers such as Kidambi Srikanth and H.S. Prannoy. However, he draws his inspiration from Sameer Verma's reflex defence. Priyanshu hails from Dhar, Madhya Pradesh and is the son of a Rajasthani Xerox business owner. He began playing badminton at the age of six, following in the footsteps of his elder brother Kunal Rajawat. His quick feet caught the attention of Gopichand during an event in Gwalior when he was just eight years old. Since then, Priyanshu has trained at Gopichand's academy in Hyderabad. While being fast is considered an advantage in badminton, Priyanshu's coach, Gopichand, has always cautioned him to be patient with his game as he has a tendency to rush to finish games. Against Nguyen, Priyanshu's strategy of bringing the Irish shuttler closer to the net worked to his advantage, as he stretched his body and scored crucial points from attacking positions.
