Press Trust of India
New Delhi, July 5: Shuttler B Sai Praneeth stated Tuesday that clinching a maiden Grand Prix crown at the Canada Open has boosted his confidence and said he is not far away from winning a big title.
The 23-year-old has been plagued by injuries and indifferent form and has been making early exits from tournaments for quite a few years. He had occasional burst of brilliance from time to time, but overall his game lacked the consistency that some of his other male counterparts like Kidambi Srikanth and Ajay Jayaram showed.
“I never expected the final to be so easy but I am happy the way I played. I’m happy that I won the tournament in Canada and beating Lee Hun Il gives me a lot of confidence going ahead. I I think I played well in this tournament,” he stated.
“It doesn’t change any targets as my target is to win something big and I know I’m not too far from that in terms of capability,” added Praneeth.
Brimming with confidence after the win, Praneeth has now set his eyes on the USD 120,000 US Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament. He again wants to finish at the top of the podium.
Praneeth will start his campaign against Sweden’s Henri Hurskainen. “I haven’t played him before. But I am looking forward to the match,” Praneeth informed. “If I have to do well on the circuit, I have to play consistently well against all the players. Now, my main aim is to beat the top 10 players on a regular basis,” added Praneeth.
