Canada Open: Priyanshu Knocks Out World No. 4 Antonsen To Progress In Semis (Ld)

Canada Open: Priyanshu knocks out world no. 4 Antonsen to progress in semis (Ld) (Image Source: IANS)

World Tour Super: Indian shuttler Priyanshu Rajawat knocked out world no. 4 Anders Antonsen in the quarter-final of the Canada Open to advance to the semifinals.

Rajawat outclassed Antonsen 21-11, 17-21, 21-19 in a competitive one-hour and 19-minute quarterfinal on Friday night (IST). It was also his first win over a top-10 ranked player. He will now lock horns with France's Alex Lanier in his second World Tour Super 500 semifinal.

In the first game, the 22-year-old Indian shuttler took a 7-4 lead against Antonsen before the score was tied at 9-9. Following that, Rajawat took five straight points to reclaim the lead. The Danish made a valiant effort to rally, but Rajawat eventually won the opening game with seven straight points.

The second game saw Antonsen proving his class with a strong comeback. Rajawat matched the competitiveness of his opponent with a 17-17 score before Antonsen unleashed his true potential with four consecutive points to take the match to a decider.

Rajawat led the final game 5-1 at one point, but Antonsen answered with six straight points to lead the game at 7-5. Although Rajawat made a spirited comeback, earning three points, the seasoned Dane led by just a slim margin at the mid-game break, 11–10. It was a close battle between the two players until Rajawat closed the gap with back-to-back points at 19-19 to win the match.

The second game saw Antonsen proving his class with a strong comeback. Rajawat matched the competitiveness of his opponent with a 17-17 score before Antonsen unleashed his true potential with four consecutive points to take the match to a decider.

He remains the sole Indian in the competition after the women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand made a quarterfinal exit. The third-seeded Indians lost to Chinese Taipei's Pei Shan Hsieh and En-Tzu Hung 18-21, 21-19, 16-21 in the quarterfinal.