BWF World Championships | One of my best tournaments in my career, says B Sai Praneeth

Although defending champion Kento Momota got the better of Sai Praneeth in the semi-final match by 21-13, 21-8 on Saturday, the Indian was delighted with his performance at the global event. The 27-year-old shuttler had a dream run at the World Championships and had to settle for a bronze medal after losing the one-sided semi-final.   

“This was one of my best tournaments that I ever had in my career. There are lots of learning and positives to take. I think the recent performances have been good,” Praneeth said after the match, reported Scroll.

Praneeth also became the first Indian male player to bag a medal at the World Championships in 36 years. Prakash Padukone was the first India who won a bronze medal in 1983. Praneeth also talked about his performance in the semi-final match against the Japanese. 

“Momota was varying the strokes. I was pushing the pace but I wasn’t getting the result. I was getting tired. I didn’t know what to do. I was blank. I was attacking but a few strokes went out,” the Indian said.

“I couldn’t think anything except hitting the strokes and he was taking all the shots and I was hitting the net too often. He has got an all-round game and he can vary his game according to the opponent and that is a big plus point.”

“If you see, Momota is a completely different player. You can’t go blindly and play him. You have to be fit and keep him in play and change the strategy all the time. The main thing is you have to be mentally fit. He has a lot of patience and variation. He can read his opponent. He has something different from others which is making everything tough to beat him. But we will figure it out and yeah, someday I will definitely beat him,” Praneeth signed off.