Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 28
B Sai Praneeth dropped on his back after completing a comeback win over compatriot and training partner Sameer Verma. The relief could be seen all over as he took his time to compose himself for the customary handshake after the end of the match.
The 18-21 21-16 21-15 win was important as the current world No. 20 has now beaten Verma twice in a row, something he has not accomplished ever since they had started in the junior ranks. Praneeth had defeated Verma 21-14 22-20 to advance to the quarterfinals at the Swiss Open earlier this month.
Both Sai Praneeth and Verma have had a measure of each other's game as they have been training at the Gopichand academy for years now. And the difference between winning and losing comes down to who keeps the composure under pressure. Today, it was Praneeth albeit after a marathon match that stretched 11 minutes past an hour mark.
"When you play an opponent who you train with, it is obviously tough. We know each other's weaknesses and strengths and with nobody outside the court to tell you something about strategies you have to think on your own," Praneeth said after the match. Praneeth, who has been left out of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPs), was candid that he had a mental block when playing against Verma, who more often than not makes it difficult to close out the match. And sure enough, Sai Praneeth's next opponent in the quarterfinals will be Kidambi Srikanth, who burst past China's Lu Guangzu with 21-11 21-16 win.
Friday's encounter will be third time that Sai Praneeth will face an opponent who is a fellow trainee of Gopichand academy. "There are eight players in the main draw and except Ajay and Shubhankar (Dey), everybody plays in the academy but I am the only one playing against all the academy players. It happens, can't do anything about it," he said.
Also, HS Prannoy, who is recovering from a digestive disorder, saw off Denmark's Jan O Jorgensen 21-19 20-22 21-17 to set up the last-8 encounter against world No. 4 Victor Axelsen.
Easy for Sindhu
Top seed PV Sindhu needed only 32 minutes to thrash Hong Kong's Deng Joy Xuan 21-11 21-13 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Important results
- PV Sindhu bt Deng Joy Xuan 21-11 21-13 K Srikanth bt Lu Guangzu 21-11 21-16, HS Prannoy bt Jan Jorgensen 21-19 20-22 21-17, B Sai Praneeth bt Sameer Verma 18-21 21-16 21-15, P Kashyap bt Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-11 21-13, Wang Tzu Wei bt Subhankar Dey 21-16 21-13, Mia Blichfeldt bt Riya Mookerjee 21-8 17-21 21-13, Manu Attri/B Sumeeth Reddy bt Huang Kaixiang/Wang Zekang 25-23 21-18, Ashwini Ponnappa/N Sikki Reddy bt Chen Xiaofei/Zhou Chaomin 21-18 21-14, Aparna Balan/Sruthi KP bt Wing Yung/Yeung Nga Ting 21-19 7-21 21-17, Pranaav Jerry Chopra/Shivam Sharma bt Aniruddha Mayekar/Vinay Kumar Singh 21-15 21-11
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