B Sai Praneeth won his first Superseries title after beating compatriot Kidambi Srikanth 17-21, 21-17, 21-12 at the Singapore Open on Sunday. It was the first all-Indian final in the men's singles category at a Superseries event. Praneeth also became only the second Indian male player to win a Superseries crown.
Interpreting his win as a corollary to Gopichand's decision for him to take time out, recover from injury, stay away from the All England and German Open this year and focus on training instead, Praneeth says, "The focus was largely on fitness and my training sessions over the past one and a half months have really helped me rediscover my game. It was a crucial call. It's the reason why I have this medal today."
Srikanth, ranked No. 29 in the world, had a better start and led 11-7 at the first changeover after eight minutes. Praneeth, who is ranked No. 30, closed the gap and made it 14-15. But Srikanth won four consecutive points and went ahead 19-14. He soon closed the game in 19 minutes.
Srikanth maintained the momentum at the beginning of in the second game and was soon ahead 6-1. But Praneeth turned the game on its head from there. His more aggressive approach coupled with good use of drop shots clicked and he went into the changeover with a point's lead.
"Early in the match I felt things were going wrong - my strokes and movement particularly," Praneeth told ESPN "But once I made it 6-6 and then 7-7, I regained my rhythm."
At that stage, Praneeth had won 10 of the 14 previous points as Srikanth failed to come up with a fresh strategy. Though Srikanth did win points at regular intervals after the changeover, the advantage stayed with Praneeth. A service error from Srikanth gave Praneeth the game point. The game was over in 19 minutes.
After a couple of points in the deciding game, Srikanth led 2-1. That proved to be the last time he led in the game. A clutch of errors from Srikanth -- hitting the shuttle either into the net or long more than a couple of times -- meant Praneeth went into the break with a six-point lead. It was Praneeth all the way from there as he won the game comfortably in 16 minutes -- and became the only Indian male player apart from his opponent, Srikanth, to win a Superseries title.