Thailand GPG: Praneeth & Saina enter the semi-finals

SAI PRANEETH continues his winning run in the Thailand Grand Prix Gold after securing a semi-final spot. Yet another comfortable victory for the Indian as he defeated local shuttler Kantaphon Wangcharoen 21-16, 21-17.

The first game saw no trouble for the third seed and expected it was another win to his name. But in the second game post the interval, it looked like the Thai will be pushing it for a decider.

From 16-8 it went to 19-16, and at this stage it gave a bit of scare to the Indian fans but then it was them who had the last laugh.

As Praneeth took the game 21-17 and the match to his name. His semi-final battle could be a final before a final as he is likely to face the top seed Tanongsak that is if he wins against Pannawit Thongnuam.

Saina Nehwal too books a berth in the semis after she won a tough battle against Japanese shuttler Haruko Suzuki. As the match started, the Indian looked in a comfortable position winning it 21-15 and it looked like Saina will clinch it in straight games. But Haruko had some other plans.

Tough win today #thailandGPG #quaterfinals ..... won in three sets 21-15 ,22-20, 21-11 .... pic.twitter.com/OUoPSfpKmJ

— Saina Nehwal (@NSaina) June 2, 2017

She came back stronger in the second game and made the second seed sweat for her points. Saina was under pressure and it backfired as Haruko won 22-20 pushing the match into a decider. Tension loomed into the minds of Indian fans.

And finally, Saina taking control of the match again, saw her winning it comfortably 21-11. She will now face fourth seed Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the semi-final.

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