Sai Praneeth Takes Silver Medal at the Swiss Open 2019

B Sai Praneeth put up a valiant effort to take the silver medal at the Swiss Open 2019, as he lost 19-21 21-18 21-12 in the men’s finals. Chinese world no 2 Shi Yqui took the gold medal having come back from a game down.

The 2017 Singapore Open Winner - Sai Praneeth went into the finals without having lost a game all week and began on a very positive note winning the first game. He was sublime at times, and quite unplayable at others. And he prevailed despite the more illustrious opponent staging a stirring comeback late in the game.

The second game also followed a similar template with Sai in the ascendancy with the higher ranked opponent playing catch-up. At 18-18, the match and championship were very much in Sai’s grasp. But a body smash by Shi, that Sai misread altogether, gave him a slender opening and he took it both hands to close the match at 21-18.

Two games all and a decider to go, both players had a shot at glory, but it was Shi who made the most of a tiring Sai Praneeth’s waning accuracy to win the game and the top honors.

The Silver Medal, however, will be of little consolation to Sai, who was in absolute top form all week, and pretty much for the first two games of the final. And yet, there is much to be proud of for Sai Praneeth – who mesmerized the both the opponents and the audience with his sublime stroke play.