Bangkok: B Sai Praneeth sailed into the final with a straight-game win in the men’s singles but Saina Nehwal’s campaign ended in the semifinal of the $1,20,000 Thailand Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament here Saturday.
The third seeded Praneeth comfortably beat Pannawit Thongnuam of Thailand 21-11, 21-15 in their singles semifinal match that lasted 36 minutes.
Saina, however, had to bite the dust as she lost in straight games to Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan 19-21, 18-21 in 53 minutes. Saina had entered the tournament as the second seed while her Thai opponent was seeded fourth.
However, seedings did not matter as Ongbamrungphan showed greater resilience in both the games to outwit her Indian opponent. It was touch and go in both the games. However, Ongbamrungphan held her nerves in crucial junctures to close out the match.
Saina led in both the games, but she could never consolidate because she committed 19 unforced errors in her match. The last two came in the second game when the Thai player 19-18 and that dashed Saina’s hope of a place in the final.
Singapore Open champion Praneeth, ranked 24 in the world, will take on fourth seeded 19-year-old Indonesian Jonatan Christie, who defeated Joo Ven Soong of Malaysia 21-9, 21-18 in his 34 minutes semifinal clash.
In the match played Saturday, the Indian started strongly and went into the first break with a four-point lead, paving the way for an easy win in the first game.
Praneeth hit some telling smashes on both sides of the court which had no answer from local player Thongnuam.
The Thai tried to stage a fightback in the second game but Praneeth was equal to the task, quickly reducing a three-point deficit early in the game. Thongnuam tried to slow down the pace and engage Praneeth in long rallies, but the Indian was equal to the task. He led 11-10 at the break and after that simply ran away with the match.
Thongnuam made Praneeth work hard for his points, but the Indian had the last laugh. “It was a tough match, more than the scoreline suggests,” Praneetha said after the tie. “Hopefully, I will be able to maintain the same momentum tomorrow (Sunday) and win my second title of the season,” he added.
Press Trust of India
