- India’s B Sai Praneeth stunned two-time Olympic silver medallist and former world number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in the opening round of the All England Championship.
- Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth and Sameer Verma entered the second round of the tournament.
- P V Sindhu lost to Thailand’s Porntip Buranaprasertsuk.
Unheralded Indian shuttler B Sai Praneeth scripted one of the biggest wins of his career, stunning two-time Olympic silver medallist and former world number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in the opening round of the prestigious All England Championship at Birmingham.
In a match that lasted 50 minutes, Praneeth punched way above his weight as he eked out a 24-22, 22-20 win over three-time champion and second seed Lee Chong Wei in a men’s singles match on Wednesday.
This is a big shock to me. I am very happy. I have been waiting for a big result like this. I got more confidence when I levelled the score 15-15 in the first game and I just kept playing my shots.B Sai Praneeth
He will next take on Denmark’s Hans-Kristian Vittinghus, ranked 26th in the world. The Indian had retired midway in their only meeting in 2013 French Open.
Besides, ace Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth and Sameer Verma too entered the second round of the USD 550,000 tournament at the Barclaycard Arena.
World number two Saina, who is making a comeback after a long injury lay-off, dispatched Commonwealth Games champion Michelle Li of Canada 21-17, 21-12 to set up a clash with Thailand’s Busanan Ongbumrungphan.
World Number 10 Srikanth too showed the door to England’s Rajiv Ouseph, a silver medallist at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, 21-17, 21-12. The Guntur lad will meet Japan’s Kento Momota, seeded fourth, here.
Young Sameer also dished out a superb performance as he dismantled Hong Kong’s Hu Yun 21-10, 21-14 in another men’s singles match and will meet Chinese eight seed Tian Houwei next.
For two-time bronze medallist at World Championship, P V Sindhu, it turned out to be yet another disappointing tournament as she lost 21-18, 17-21, 12-21 to Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand.
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