B Sai Praneeth's impressive run at the BWF World Championships ended as he succumbed to defending champion Kento Momota in a lop-sided semifinal to settle for bronze in Basel on Saturday (August 24). (BADMINTON NEWS)
🃏Praneeth's attacking game couldn't dent the defence of an in-form Momota as he went down to the Japanese World No. 1 13-21, 8-21 in 41 minutes.
♔Notwithstanding the loss, Praneeth still achieved the rare distinction of becoming the first Indian male shuttler in 36 years to win a medal in the prestigious tournament.
🧔Prakash Padukone was the first to win a men's singles World Championships medal -- a bronze -- in the 1983 edition.
ꦰPraneeth made a good start to his semifinal clash, opening up a slender 5-3 lead. However, Momota slowly found his rhythm and turned the tables by entering the interval with a small 11-10 advantage.
꧋The left-handed Japanese stepped up after the break, reeling off four points to surge to 15-10. Praneeth couldn't find the winners regularly and committed too many unforced errors to allow Momota widen the gap between them.
ꩵAt 12-18, the Indian found the net thrice to hand over the opening game to the Japanese.
ꩲPraneeth was more competitive initially in the second game as he was tied 2-2 with his opponent but the Indian failed to lift the hard-hitting returns of Momota, sending the shuttle wide or at the net.
🐓While Praneeth was erroneous, Momota was consistent and it reflected in the scoreline, as the Japanese quickly jumped to 9-2.
🔥A precise smash from Praneeth helped him to take a point but he misjudged a shuttle at the backline and then hit the nets as Momota grabbed a 11-3 advantage in the mid-game interval.
🌱Praneeth's struggle continued after the break as he couldn't put pressure on his fancied rival, who rode on his resolute defence to dominate the rallies.
🐻At 15-5, Momota made a rare error when he sent the shuttle long but his quick backhand reflex near the net earned him the serve again.
ꦏA cross-court smash at Praneeth's backhand took Momota to 19-8 and he grabbed 12 match points when the Indian hit the nets again.
🌳Praneeth then went wide as Momota raised his fist in celebration.
(PTI)
