BASEL, March 20: Up and coming shuttler HS Prannoy clinched his second Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament title by notching up a straight game victory over Marc Zwiebler of Germany in the summit clash of the Swiss Open here today. Seeded 13th in the USD 120,000 tournament, Prannoy outclassed seventh seeded Zwiebler 21-18, 21-15 in a 45-minute final.
The 23-year-old Prannoy, who had won the Indonesia Open Grand Prix Gold in 2014, had been in fine touch with wins over higher ranked players, including Rajiv Ouseph of England, in this tournament. Prannoy began the match on a confident note and surged to a 7-4 lead in the first game before the German, ranked 19th as compared to the Indian�s 27th, fought his way back into the match.
The two rivals were tied at 18-18 and it was from there that the Indian took three straight points at a crucial juncture to take the opening game 21-18. With the opening game in his pocket, Prannoy grew in confidence as he outclassed his more experienced German rival in the second game to win the match. The Indian led the second game from start to finish with the German playing a catch-up game. � PTI
