New Zealand Open 2018: Sole survivor Praneeth into the Semis

World No. 18 B Sai Praneeth entered the Semi-Finals at the Barfoot and Thompson New Zealand Open 2018 after thrashing Niluka Karunaratne of Sri Lanka with 21-7, 21-9 on Friday in Auckland.

Praneeth has been producing great performance since day one at the tournament. The Indian grabbed early eight consecutive points to lead with 8-0 and maintained minimum of 7 points gap. He surged to seal the opener with 21-7 and second game with 21-9 to close the match in just 28 minutes.   

In another Men’s Singles match Sameer Verma had tough challenge against badminton star, Lin Dan; the Indian lost to the former with 19-21, 9-21 in the quarter finals match.

Th Indian grabbed the early lead in the first game with 2-0. Sooner, Lin caught Sameer at 3-3, followed by scoring seven straight points to lead the game with 10-3. Sameer changed the gear and scored seven straight points to reduce the deficit and levelled the score at 10-10.

Lin, with all his experience, continued his amazing stride and reached 18-14 lead. However, Sameer reached Lin at 18-18, but couldn’t save the game.

In the second game, Sameer score first point before the Chinese cruised with six straight points with 6-1 and the game.

In the Men’s Doubles match, Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy lost to Bodin Isara and Nipitphon Phuangphuapet of Thailand with 10-21, 15-21 in the 35 minute encounter.

India’s second best pair, unlike in the first game, gave the tough challenge to the opponents in the second game, wherein the game went neck-to-neck  till 12-12, but couldn’t continue with the same pace and lost the game.

Thence, B Sai Praneeth is the sole survivor to represent India at the tournament, who will face the second seeded Jonathan Christie of Indonesia in the semi-finals on Saturday.

If Praneeth surpasses Jonathan in the semis, he has high chances of meeting Lin Dan in the finals on Sunday.