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Continuing his stellar form from the BWF World Championships, Indian men's singles shuttler Sai Praneeth has now reached the quarter-finals of the China Open 2019, the final Super 1000 event on the badminton calendar. Sai is now the last Indian standing at this prestigious tournament following the exits of both PV Sindhu and Parupalli Kashyap yesterday.
The World No. 15 has been the most consistent of all the Indian men's singles players this year. While Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy and Sameer Verma have struggled due to injuries and patchy form, it has been Sai who has been the shining beacon.
He reached the final of the Swiss Open earlier in the year. Then, at the Japan Open, while all his compatriots fell early, Sai was the only one to reach the semi-finals. He carried that confidence into the World Championships to secure his first medal from the elite event, which also ended India's medal drought in men's singles after 36 long years.
It was during his fabulous run to the semi-finals in Basel that he faced Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting the last time. Being a top-10 player, Ginting definitely had the edge in that face-off but the way in which Sai dismantled him was laudable to say the least.
After eking out a tight first game 21-19, Sai then sailed through the second game to complete a stunning 21-19, 21-13 victory over the current World No. 9. That victory also gave Sai a 3-2 lead in their head-to-head meetings.
With the kind of fighting spirit and conviction the Hyderabad-based shuttler has shown so far in Changzhou this week, it won't be a surprise if he repeats his Basel heroics and defeats Ginting once again.
Here is all you need to know about the BWF China Open 2019:
Tournament: VICTOR China Open 2019
Category: BWF Super 1000
Location: Changzhou, China
Schedule: Sai Praneeth vs (7) Anthony Sinisuka Ginting quarter-finals at approx 12:30 pm IST on Friday, September 20, 2019.
Where to watch the matches in India?
The matches will be telecast on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 2 HD.
Live Stream Details and Info for the matches:
China Open 2019 can be streamed live on Hotstar.
