Prannoy won the first World Tour title of his career

Kuala Lumpur Indian shuttler HS Prannoy overcame the challenge of China’s Wang Hong Yang in the final of the Malaysia Masters on Sunday to clinch his maiden BWF World Tour title.

Prannoy got the better of Yang 21-19, 13-21, 21-18 in a grueling match that lasted one hour and 34 minutes.

Prannoy, who was facing Yang for the first time, started the match cautiously and took an 11-10 lead at the break in the first game. Prannoy managed to take a 15-12 lead after the break but the Chinese too came back strongly and scored three points in a row to level the score.

Prannoy showed confidence in his forehand and returned to the lead to win the first game 21-19.

The second game proved to be relatively difficult for Prannoy. Yang made a strong start after trailing 1-0 and after a tussle for early points, the Chinese shuttler scored six points in a row to lead 17-10. Prannoy put up a bit of a fight in the dying moments of the game but could not prevent Yang from sealing a 21-13 victory.

As the contest entered the third game, both the players displayed their 100 per cent ability and played long rallies. Trailing 5-7 at one stage, Prannoy was once again able to lead 11-10 at the break.

Prannoy took three-point leads twice at 14-11 and 16-13, but both times he gave Yang a chance to get back in the match. Prannoy led 17-16 when he scored a point with a forehand, but two unforced errors saw Yang level at 18-18.

Prannoy’s forehand finally worked for him and he used this powerful shot to earn a champion point, scoring one point each on both ends of the court, and was able to convert it on the third shot.

The Malaysia Masters was the first BWF tournament of the Paris Olympic Qualification. The points obtained from this will be important to reach the 2024 Olympics.