World Badminton Championship: Sai Praneeth crashes out of the semi-final, settles with bronze
By Anurag Mallick Published on 25 Aug 2019 7:15 AM GMT
Sai Praneeth Ace Indian shuttler and current World No.19, lost the semi-final of the World Badminton Championship to World No.1 and defending champion Kento Momota (13-21, 8-21) as he settled for bronze held at Basel, Switzerland on Saturday.
Praneeth was high on confidence as he defeated World No.4 Jonatan Christie in the quarter-final.
But on the given day, the defending champion was too good as he completely outplayed Praneeth in all aspects. Praneeth also termed Momota as a 'complete player'.
It is after 36 years that an Indian will be on the podium receiving a medal. Praneeth is only the second male shuttler from India to secure a medal at the World Championships. Earlier, Prakash Padukone had secured bronze in the 1983 World Championships.
Praneeth also said, "This is one of the best tournaments I've ever played in my career."
In the Women's category, PV Sindhu will face Nozomi Okuhara in the finals of the women's single in the World Badminton Championship later today.
