NASHIK: Immediately after winning the gold medal in the Yonex German Ruhr International Badminton Championship (held in Germany from 13th to 17th October), Nashik’s Prajwal Sonawane has continued his winning streak with a silver medal in the Victor Badminton Championship held in Denmark from 20th to 24th October.
Prajwal played well in this extremely tough final. However, Prajwal lost to fifth-ranked holder Denmark’s Mad Emil Monke with 21-16, 18-21 and 21-19 in the threeset contest with just two points. In the first match of this Victor Denmark International Tournament, Prajwal started his winning campaign by defeating Ellis Malls Cabell of Denmark in 21-15, 21-10. In the second match, Prajwal easily defeated Emil Bach Kristensen 21-11, 21-04, while in the third match, Prajwal defeated seventh ranked Sebastian Lacin Nielsen in two sets 21-16, 21-15 to advance in the semifinals.
In the semi-finals, Prajwal defeated Otto Reiler 21-14, 21-14. Entered the final by defeating USA’s Aaron Bay 21-13 and 21-17. In this final match too, Prajwal played with vigor. But he lost the first set 21- 16. However, in the second set, Prajwal regained his momentum and won the set 21-18. In the third decisive set too, Prajwal gave a good fight, sometimes by lifting the shuttle at a deep depth and sometimes by dropping near the net and tied the score at 19-19.
But in the last few minutes, Mads Emile scored two points to win the match 21-19. Due to the difference of two points, Prajwal had to settle for the runner-up position in this competition. By participating in this prestigious international competition for the first time, Prajwal has directly won gold and silver medals for India, Maharashtra and Nashik.
Due to its quality, Prajwal has been sponsored by Infosys and Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) to travel to Germany and Denmark. Prajwal Sonawane has been taking badminton lessons at an early age at Shivasatya Krida Mandal on Gangapur Road in Nashik under the guidance of badminton coach Makrand Deo.
For the last three years, Prajwal has been undergoing regular training at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bangalore under the guidance of Prakash Padukone and Vimal Kumar. Prajwal is currently studying in 10th standard.