Canada GP title has boosted Praneeth's confidence, aims for higher targets

RECENTLY CROWNED CANADA OPEN WINNER SAI PRANEETH hopes and aims for a bigger title and believes that he will achieve it soon.

The 23-year-old shuttler was marred with injuries and wasn't delivering results at a higher level but after this win, his confidence has been boosted. His journey at the Canada Grand Prix was a smooth ride including the final.

"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 and beating Lee Hun Il gives me a lot of confidence going ahead. I I think I played well in this tournament," he told PTI.

Praneeth caught the attention of all badminton fans in the past when he defeated higher ranked players like Muhammad Hafiz Hashim of Malaysia, the 2003 All England Champion at the Thailand Open GPG in 2013. In the same year, he also got the best of Taufik Hidayat at the Indonesia Open.

Once again at the All England Championships earlier this year, he defeated the mighty Lee Chong Wei in the first round.

He now wants to take it another level.

"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."

Currently, his focus is on the ongoing US Open Grand Prix Gold where he has passed the first round hurdle.