It's a big win, want to carry forward momentum: Praneeth
Friday - August 23, 2019 8:32 pm ,
Category : SPORTS
Basel (Switzerland), Aug 23 (IANS) After creating history by becoming the first men's singles player after Prakash Padukone in 1983 to win a World Championships medal, Sai Praneeth on Friday termed his straight games victory over world No. 4 Jonatan Christie of Indonesia as a "very big win".
Just a week after being chosen for the Arjuna Award, Praneeth breezed past Christie 24-22, 21-14 in 51 minutes to progress to the semifinals, thus assuring himself of a bronze medal. He will next take on defending champion and world No.1 Kento Momota of Japan on Saturday. Padukone had won the bronze at the Worlds 36 years back."This is a very big win. The last time it was Prakash Padukone and since then no Indian men's player has won a medal at the World Championships. So yes, it is big and I am very happy," Praneeth, 27, said moments after he sunk to the floor as Cristie's shot went wide of the court."I need to prepare for the semifinal. We have a 3-2 head-to-head record. But that won't matter now. It will be who plays better on the day," said Praneeth, who is a lot fitter now than what he used to be.Praneeth said he would also like to work on his smashes going into the last-four clash."I missed a few smashes (today) and would like to work on that. Tomorrow's game would be different as the opponent is different," he said.Before Praneeth's encounter, P.V. Sindhu overcame world No. 2 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei 12-21, 23-21, 21-19 to storm into the semifinals and assure herself of a fifth medal at the Worlds. Asked if her gritty win gave him inspiration, Praneeth said: "When one wins, the other gets confidence. It is always that way. We train together."
--IANS dm/arm
Just a week after being chosen for the Arjuna Award, Praneeth breezed past Christie 24-22, 21-14 in 51 minutes to progress to the semifinals, thus assuring himself of a bronze medal. He will next take on defending champion and world No.1 Kento Momota of Japan on Saturday. Padukone had won the bronze at the Worlds 36 years back."This is a very big win. The last time it was Prakash Padukone and since then no Indian men's player has won a medal at the World Championships. So yes, it is big and I am very happy," Praneeth, 27, said moments after he sunk to the floor as Cristie's shot went wide of the court."I need to prepare for the semifinal. We have a 3-2 head-to-head record. But that won't matter now. It will be who plays better on the day," said Praneeth, who is a lot fitter now than what he used to be.Praneeth said he would also like to work on his smashes going into the last-four clash."I missed a few smashes (today) and would like to work on that. Tomorrow's game would be different as the opponent is different," he said.Before Praneeth's encounter, P.V. Sindhu overcame world No. 2 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei 12-21, 23-21, 21-19 to storm into the semifinals and assure herself of a fifth medal at the Worlds. Asked if her gritty win gave him inspiration, Praneeth said: "When one wins, the other gets confidence. It is always that way. We train together."
--IANS dm/arm
