HYDERABAD: One more giant-killer has emerged from the Pullela Gopichand Academy. His name is B Sai Praneeth. After the exploits of Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth, who had brought down top-ranked players like Chen Long and Lin Dan in the recent past, this 24-year-old joined this elite list when he vanquished World No 2 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in the first round of the All England Championship on Wednesday.
The national champion, who got entry into the main draw after Kashyap pulled out because of injury, won 24-22, 22-20 in 50 minutes to record the biggest win of his career.
In fact, it is for the first time that Lee has lost to an Indian in a Super Series event. Coach Pullela Gopichand was delighted. “Lee is a very difficult customer in a Super Series tournament. Winning against him is very difficult, and Praneeth was able to put the brakes on the Malaysian,” said Gopichand.
“It's consistency that matters in international tournaments. He has a good all-round game. But he has to work hard on his fitness. He has the spark to excel in big tournaments. I hope he's motivated by this win and does better in future tournaments,” he added.
The coach was also happy with 22-year-old Sameer Verma, who recorded an impressive 21-10, 21-14 win over Hu Yun of Hong Kong.
Other Indian results: Xue Song (CHN) bt HS Prannoy 22-20, 21-15; NG Ka Long Angus (HKG) bt Ajay Jayaram 21-18, 19-21, 21-19; Kidambi Srikanth bt Rajiv Ouseph (ENG) 27-17, 21-12; Porntip Buranaprasertsuk (THA) bt PV Sindhu 18-21, 21-17, 21-12; Samantha Barning/Iris Tabeling (NLD) bt Jwala Gutta/Ashwin Ponnappa 26-24, 21-17; Kien Keat Koo/Boon Heong Tan (MYS) bt Manu Attri/Sumeeth Reddy 16-21, 21-13, 21-15.