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In what has so far been a highly disappointing season for the Indian men's singles shuttlers, Sai Praneeth has emerged as a beacon of hope. The World No. 19 has continued to notch up some strong results throughout the season, the latest of which came at the BWF World Championships in Basel, Switzerland on Thursday where he knocked out the World No. 8 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 21-19, 21-13.
It has put Sai in the quarter-finals of the World Championships once again where he will aim to win a medal for the very first time.
Forever an underachiever, Sai hasn't done much justice to his immense talent all these years. After conquering the Singapore Open and the Thailand Open in 2017, Sai failed to continue his heroics and faded away for nearly a year.
It is finally this year that the 26-year-old is showing some resurgence and looks determined to continue it. With Olympic qualification at stake, Sai very much looks a man on a mission.
A runner-up finish at the Swiss Open was followed by a quarter-final at the India Open, a semi-final at the Japan Open and another quarter-final in Bangkok. His steely nerves and calmness under pressure has stood out which was highly evident when he managed to eke out a gruelling first game against the 8th ranked Ginting yesterday and then went on to cruise through the second game to complete the win.
The challenge now is to replicate those efforts against one of the most in-form players on the Tour. World No. 4 Jonatan Christie has come to Basel with a rich vein of form, having won the New Zealand Open and the Australian Open. He also made it to the final of the Japan Open where he lost to the World No. 1 Kento Momota.
Christie would be the favourite on paper in this duel, but one should not count out the Indian. He does have a win over the young Indonesian and with the confidence that he has gained from his big win yesterday, he would look to give his all and make life tough for Christie.
Here is all you need to know about the BWF World Championships 2019
Tournament: Total BWF World Championships 2019
Category: Grade 1 - Individual tournament
Location: Basel, Switzerland
Date: 23rd August, 2019
Schedule: (16) Sai Praneeth vs (4) Jonatan Christie at approx 5 pm IST
Head-to-head: Christie leads 2-1
Last meeting: Christie def Sai 21-16, 21-14 at the 2018 French Open
Where to watch the matches in India?
The matches will be live telecast on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports Select 2 and Star Sports Select 2 HD from August 19.
Live Stream Details and Info for the matches
Live Stream for the matches is available on hotstar.com
