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Saina Nehwal loses in semis, B Sai Praneeth enters Thailand Open final
Saina Nehwal lost to Thai fourth-seed Busanan Ongbamrungpha 19-21, 18-21 while B Sai Praneeth thrashed Pannawit Thongnuam 21-11, 21-15 to enter the Thailand Open Grand Prix badminton tournament title clash.
It was a mixed day for Indian shuttlers in Bangkok. While Saina Nehwal faltered in the semifinals, compatriot B. Sai Praneeth progressed to the summit clash of the $120,000 Thailand Open Grand Prix on Saturday.
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Third seed Sai Praneeth came out with a top class performance to beat local player Pannawit Thongnuam 21-11, 21-15 in 36 minutes to set up a men’s singles final against Indonesian fourth seed Jonatan Christie.
The World No.24 Indian had quite smooth first game against his Thai opponent. Sai Praneeth led from the start and it was only a matter of minutes before he closed the game in his favour.
However, Thongnuam fought back in the second game to take an early 6-3 lead. Sai Praneeth, though, was determined to not take the match into the decider and found legs to clinch the next seven points and take a 10-3 lead.
Thongnuam closed the gap at 10-all and it remained a tight contest till 14-15 when Sai Praneeth won the next seven points to clinch the match and extend his career record to 2-0 against the World No.71.
A little while later, second seed Saina also looked in good nick against Thai fourth seed Busanan Ongbamrungphan. She looked well on course, leading 17-13. However, the Hyderabadi totally lost the plot and could manage only two points in comparison to her opponent’s 8 to fall behind in the match.
The second game was a tighter contest but Saina yet again managed to take a healthy lead at 13-9.
A couple of decisive drop shots from the Thai girl gave her the edge to eventually equalise at 18-all when Busanan won the next three points to advance to the final where she will take on former World Champion and compatriot Ratchanok Intanon.
This was World No.11 Saina’s first loss to Busanan in four meetings.
