India’s campaign at the Thailand Masters Super 300 badminton tournament in Bangkok ended on Friday as B Sai Praneeth lost a hard-fought battle against sixth seed Li Shi Feng from China in the men’s singles quarterfinals.
Sai Praneeth, who clinched a thriller against Korea’s Jeon Hyeok Jin in the previous round, was the sole Indian shuttler to reach the quarterfinal stage in the competition. But on Friday, despite saving three match points in the second game, he went on to lose 17-21, 23-21, 18-21 in an hour and 23 minutes.
The 2019 World Championships bronze medallist saw a disappointing outcome to the first game. After leading 15-10 at one stage, he lost 11 of the next 13 points as errors started to creep into his game.
However, the 30-year-old bounced back impressively and held his nerve in a tense second game. He faced three match points but refused to go away and somehow managed to force a decider.
The third game remained a tight affair as well for the most part and the score was locked at 12-all soon after the interval. But Feng went on to win six consecutive points thereafter to take the driver’s seat in the contest.
Praneeth, though, made one final push and trailed by just a point at 18-19, but Feng won the next two points to close out the match and secure his spot in the semifinals.
