Praneeth rallies to lift Thailand Open crown
Bangkok, June 4: Shuttler B. Sai Praneeth lifted his maiden Grand Prix gold title by posting a come- from-behind victory over Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie in the men’s singles final of the $1,20,000 Thailand Open here on Sunday.
The third seed Indian prevailed 17-21, 21-18, 21-19 over the fourth seed Indonesian in a contest that lasted an hour and 11 minutes.
This is Praneeth’s second consecutive title win, following the Singapore Open victory. He had reached the finals of the Syed Modi International in January at Hyderabad, where he lost to Sameer Verma.
Praneeth, ranked 24th in the world, did not have an ideal start in the final losing the opening game.
“I was just focusing on the rallies. It was a difficult match. The rallies were going too long. But I tried to slowly and slowly build up and I am happy I could win. I thank everyone who supported me,” said Praneeth.
The Indonesian opened up a 3-0 lead but Praneeth soon caught up with him at 4-4 and it was a close battle till 77 before Christie broke free to maintain a slender edge.
At one stage, the Indonesian shuttler was ahead 14-11 but Praneeth kept breathing down his neck and made it 14-14 with three straight points.
After another couple of close points, Christie found himself 18-17 up and quickly sealed the opening game with three points on the trot.
In the second game, Praneeth surged ahead 5-0 and then at 9-3 but failed to maintain the lead as they were tied 9-9.
Thereafter, it was a neckand-neck battle. Leading 1716, Praneeth managed to bag three more points to move ahead 20-16. and eventually won it 21-18.
In the decider, Praneeth caught up with him at 9-9 and what followed was a keenly contested affair with neither sparing an inch to each other.
At 17-17, Praneeth won two crucial points to take a 19-17 lead but only to concede the advantage. Christie bagged the next two points to tie at 19-19. However, the Indian held on to his nerves to reel off two quick points to wrap up the match and the title in his favour.
This is Praneeth’s second consecutive title win, following the Singapore Open victory. He had reached the finals of the Syed Modi International in January at Hyderabad, where he lost to Sameer Verma.