Praneeth stuns Lee in Round 1

Birmingham, Unheralded Indian shuttler B Sai Praneeth scripted one of the biggest wins of his career, stunning two-time Olympics silver medallist and former world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei in the opening round of the prestigious All England Championship here.
In a match that lasted 50 minutes, Praneeth eked out a 24-22, 22-20 win over the second-seeded Malaysian, a three-time All England champion, late last night.
Praneeth put a firm dent into Lee’s preparations ahead of the Rio Olympics.
The loss ended a promising few months where the Malaysian had won his last four events.
“I can’t believe I lost in the first round,” Lee said. “I had pressure to win but I made mistakes and I’m shocked at how well he played. This is a real learning curve for me. Praneeth has improved a lot since we played in the Canada Open last year. I think he has a great future.”
Lee was playing his first All-England since 2014 following his eight-month drug suspension ended last year.
Praneeth, however, clawed his way back from 11-3 and 15-7 deficits in the first game to take control of the match and hailed the win as his best result. “It is a big shock for me too and after the last rally I cannot believe that I won,” said Praneeth. “I do not know how I turned it around. I think he was under pressure as it was a close match and that was a big advantage for me. Of course it is my greatest victory of all time.”
Sindhu, Srikanth lose
World No. 10 Kidambi Srikanth lost to Japan’s Kento Momota 21-10, 21-13 in the second round. Srikanth had beaten England’s Rajiv Ouseph 21-17, 21-12 in the first round on Wednesday.
For PV Sindhu, it turned out to be yet another disappointing tournament as she lost 18-21, 21-17, 21-12 to Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand in Round 1.