SAI PRANEETH wins his first Super Series title in Singapore after beating fellow shuttler and friend Srikanth Kidambi in a scintillating three game match 17-21, 21-17, 21-12.
Both the shuttlers were seen wearing a black armband in respect to late Mr. Akhilesh Das Gupta, Badminton Association of India President who passed away last week following a cardiac arrest.
Srikanth was the only Indian men's singles shuttler to have a SS title to his name and now Praneeth's name joins the list. Throughout the tournament, Praneeth looked in his best shape and it is a deserving title win for the young shuttler.
Srikanth who skipped the Malaysia SSP to get better at his game too showed some amazing performance and this is the best from him in the recent past. But today it was Praneeth who was a better shuttler on court. The desire to get his hands on his first SS title drove him till the end.
After being one game down and trailing 1-6 in the second game, it was a great comeback from Praneeth who fought hard till the end. Winning the second and forcing a decider in which he was in full control of the game. The final game was indeed a comfortable one.
After the match Praneeth said,
"It is tough to play against a shuttler whom you train daily with as it can get tricky because we both know our game well."
He was also happy with support from the crowd.
"It makes us really happy to see the Indian crowd cheer us no matter where we play, it really helps us and boosts our confidence while we play."
With this win, Praneeth extended his head-to-head count to 5-2 against Srikanth.