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All eyes will be on World No. 15 B. Sai Praneeth as he kicks off India's singles challenge in badminton at the Olympics 2021 in Tokyo on Saturday. Sai will be India's lone representative in men's singles this time around and will have the entire nation's hopes on him to bring home the nation's first-ever medal in that discipline.
Seeded 13th, the 2019 World Championships bronze medalist has been placed in Group D, where he is required to top the group in order to progress to the Round of 16. As Sai Praneeth begins his quest for an Olympic medal, here's a look at three of his toughest opponents based on his draw.
#1 Mark Caljouw (The Netherlands)
Sai Praneeth and Mark Caljouw are slated to meet each other in the group stages. A win over the Dutchman is essential for the Indian shuttler to advance to the knockouts.
But the two have never met, which makes matters intriguing. The unfamiliarity factor could make a difference in this matchup.
Mark Caljouw is currently ranked 29th, with his highest ranking being 25th, which he achieved in 2018. The 26-year-old has made three finals on the BWF World Tour, winning one (2018 Orleans Masters).
The Dutchman made the semifinals of the All England Open earlier this year before bowing out to eventual champion Lee Zii Jia. He also reached the quarterfinals of the European Championships, which was his last tournament before the Tokyo Olympics. He will hope to draw confidence from that run of form when he meets Sai Praneeth.
#2 NG Ka Long Angus (Hong Kong)
Hong Kong's World No. 9 NG Ka Long Angus could be Sai Praneeth's opponent in the pre-quarterfinals should the two progress to the knockouts. The former junior boys' doubles champion etched his name in the record books in 2016 when he became the first home player to triumph at the Hong Kong Open in men's singles.
Angus began the 2021 season in brilliant fashion, reaching the final of the Super 1000 Yonex Thailand Open, where he lost to Viktor Axelsen.
The Hong Kong shuttler has a 3-1 lead over Sai Praneeth in their head-to-head and could be a handful for the Indian. Sai hasn't beaten Angus since 2015 and has managed to win just one game in their last couple of meetings. Needless to say, the Indian needs to be in attacking mode right from the start and not let Angus get into his comfort zone.
#3 Kento Momota (Japan)
Having missed the Rio Olympics due to a suspension, Kento Momota will be raring to go this time around. With the quadrennial Games being staged in Tokyo, the Japanese has more reasons to give his best on the court and make his country proud.
The gambling scandal in 2016 a few months before Rio and his subsequent suspension changed Momota as a player. He came back better and stronger than ever as he made his way back from the 'darkest period' of his life to the top of the world rankings.
Since then, the southpaw has been a force to reckon with. He has gone on to add the World Championships gold, the Asian Championships gold, the All England Open, the BWF World Tour Finals to his illustrious resume. Momota's haul of 11 men's singles titles in 2019 remains a Guinness Book of World Record.
Momota could face off against Sai Praneeth in the quarterfinals. Although Sai did beat the Japanese twice, both those wins came early in their careers. The Indian has since lost five matches in a row to the World No. 1.
That said, the 26-year-old hasn't been able to play much for the past year and a half due to an accident and a positive COVID test. This year he has only played the All England Open, where he made the quarters. It remains to be seen if his lack of competitive play can make any difference in what could be Sai Praneeth's sternest test of the Olympics.
