April 17, 2017 by admin

Praneeth wins Singapore title

Singapore, B Sai Praneeth clinched his maiden Super Series title at the Singapore Open after defeating compatriot K Srikanth in a historic all-Indian final here today.
World No. 30 Praneeth, who had won the Canada Open Grand Prix last year and reached the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold final this year, outmaneuvered Srikanth 17-21 21-17 21-12 in the summit clash of the $350,000 event.
“It’s always difficult to play someone with whom you play every day. I am very happy to win today. The way I played in the tournament, I’m very happy. The support here for the Indians has also been very nice,” Praneeth said after the 54-minute clash.
It was the first time in the history of international badminton that two Indians were playing a Super Series final and it turned out to be a thrilling contest. The two trainees of the Gopichand Academy exploited every chink in each other’s game.
In the first game, Srikanth played some angled shots to set up his points and then used his accurate smashes to seal them. He gathered many points on Praneeth’s forehand with his brilliant returns. Srikanth started with two lame returns but as the game progressed he showed his class to outmanoeuvre his compatriot.
It was Srikanth who grabbed an 11-7 advantage during the first break with a crosscourt smash which Praneeth could not return despite a full stretch dive. Praneeth too made Srikanth run for every point before closing in to make it 14-15. Srikanth came up with down-the-line smashes to grab five gamepoints.
In the second game, Srikanth rushed to a 4-1 lead but Praneeth clawed back at 7-7. The duo moved neck-and-neck till 10-10 before Praneeth grabbed a one-point advantage with Srikanth hitting wide. Praneeth moved to a 20-17 lead when Srikanth made a service error. He then roared back into the contest when his compatriot hit wide.
In the decider, Praneeth surged to a 7-3 lead which he consolidated to 11-5 at the break. It was another towering smash on Srikanth’s backhand which gave him the lead. In the end, a drop shot gave Praneeth a 19-12 lead and Srikanth handed him a match point when he hit wide. Praneeth made it count to seal his first Super Series title as his compatriot again hit wide.
Praneeth has quality but needs consistency: Gopi
New Delhi: Chief national coach Pullela Gopichand said his ward B Sai Praneeth needs to be consistent and hoped the win at Singapore Open will take his game to another level. “I am very proud of them (Praneeth, Srikanth), they reached the finals. It is a big tournament to win. Praneeth is still young. He has many years ahead of him. It will give him the confidence to play at another level,” Gopichand said. “If you look at his career, he has some big wins. He has beaten Taufik Hidayat, Lee Chong Wei, he has beaten many of them, so he has the quality but he needs consistency,” he added. Heaping praise on Praneeth, Gopichand said: “It takes a special character to win a tournament. Not many have been able to win that. I hope he qualifies for the World Championships. In fact, Srikanth also has a chance.” Asked how did Praneeth transformed his game, Gopichand said: “I think game wise he has many things going for him but he has to focus on his training.”
Gopi’s daughter wins twin crowns in Jakarta
New Delhi: Pullela Gopichand’s daughter Gayatri Pullela has bagged both the singles and doubles crown at the Pembangunan Jaya Raya Junior Grand Prix in Jakarta. Gayatri eked out a hard-fought 21-11 18-21 21-16 win over her doubles partner Samiya Farooqui to win the girls U-15 singles title. Gayatri later teamed up with Samiya to clinch the U-15 doubles title with a straight game 21-17 21-15 win over the Indonesian pair of Kelly Larissa and Shelandry Vyola. Both Gayatri and Samiya train together at the Pullela Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad.