Come Sunday April 16,2017, Indian fans will be treated to an all-Indian final at the Singapore Open, with Kidambi Srikanth and Sai Praneeth taking on each other for the coveted Super Series title. Yes, Indian badminton rivalry will now have another chapter, other than that of Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu.
Both Srikanth abd Praneeth registered comfortable straight games victories in their respective men's single semi-finals, against Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia and Lee Dong Keun of Suthg Korea respectively on Saturday.
Praneeth, 24, will be playing in his first ever Super Series final. And the World No. 30 from Hyderabad was at his best against the three-time Korea Masters champion Lee in just 38 minutes. In their only previous encounter, the Korean had beaten Praneeth in straight games 23-21, 21-10 at 2015 Japan Open.
t was followed by a scintillating performance from Srikanth, who thrashed World No. 26 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 21-13 21-14 in 42 minutes at Singapore City. Now the 24-year-old former World No. 3 can hope to win his third Super Series title.
Srikanth famously beat Chinese legend Lin Dan to win his first Super Series title, the China Open Premier in 2014. He then got the better of Dane superstar Viktor Axelsen to win India Open in 2015.
Going in tomorrow match, the higher ranked Srikanth will be deemed favourite, but Praneeth has a 4-1 head-to-head record against his more illustrious compatriot.
This is the first time in the history of game to witness two Indian male shuttlers taking on each other in a Super Series title clash
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