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Three months ago, World No. 1 Kento Momota and India's Sai Praneeth were locked in an enthralling first-round match at the Singapore Open, a tournament which Sai had won previously. Sai began with some pinpoint placement and attack that saw him take the first game off the mighty Japanese.
Just when the hushed arena was sensing an upset, Momota, of course, came back and forced a decider. What badminton fans worldwide perhaps did not expect was the kind of superb resilience that Sai would show in the face of adversity. He fought tooth-and-nail against the planet's best shuttler and ultimately had to embrace a 21-19, 14-21, 20-22 defeat at the end of an absorbing battle that lasted 1 hour 15 minutes.
If anything, that match gave a proper demonstration of Sai's skills and immense talent. What he is actually capable of doing on the badminton court, the underrated and under-achieved shuttler displayed in ample amounts.
The World No. 23 did not reach the quarter-finals in his next three tournaments until this week in Tokyo where he once again seems to have rediscovered his touch and confidence on his way to the semi-finals. He is yet to drop a game in three matches so far, and his victims -- Kento Nishimoto, Kanta Tsuneyama and Tommy Sugiarto are ranked No. 11, 17 and 18 respectively. Each of them has been ranked higher than Sai and yet he did not bat an eyelid in his matches and had quite an easy time on the court against them.
The self-belief seems to be back again, and he looks very free on the court. In contrast, Momota would be coming into this clash after surviving a gritty 1 hour 29 minute battle with his nemesis, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.
Being the fresher and sharper of the two, this might be the right time for Sai to try and finish what he failed to do in Singapore.
Here is all you need to know about the Japan Open:
Tournament: Daihatsu Yonex Japan Open 2019
Category: Super 750
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Round: Semi-finals
Head-to-head: Momota and Sai Praneeth are tied at 2-2
Schedule: (1) Kento Momota vs Sai Praneeth at approx 8 am IST on Saturday, July 27, 2019
Where to watch the matches in India?
The Japan Open matches will be telecast live on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 2 HD from July 25.
Live Stream Details and Info for the matches:
Live Stream for the matches is available on hotstar.com.
