Thailand Masters 2023: B Sai Praneeth reaches quarterfinals

Indian shuttler B Sai Praneeth on Thursday defeated Jeon Hyeok Jin of South Korea in a hard-fought three-game match to enter the quarterfinals of the Thailand Masters 2023 Super 300 badminton tournament in Bangkok.

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Praneeth defeated the Korean player 24-22, 7-21, 22-20 in the men's second-round singles match. He will take on sixth seed Li Shi Feng of China in the next round. The win kept India's challenge alive at the Thailand Masters 2023 tournament as the other five Indian badminton players and doubles teams competing on the day failed to cross the round of 16. 

B Sai Praneeth, a world championships bronze medallist, saved a game point in the first game. And he also achieve a match point in the third game to defeat Jeon Hyeok Jin 24-22, 7-21, 22-20 in one hour and 18 minutes. The world No. 49 Indian badminton player led Jeon Hyeok Jin by three points at the break and thwarted a late comeback by his opponent in the first game to take a 1-0 lead.

Jeon Hyeok Jin turned the tables on B Sai Praneeth in the second game to restore parity. The Indian shuttler mounted a comeback in the third game to lead the South Korean shuttler 13-9 at one stage. However, Jeon Hyeok Jin drew level at 16-16 and had the match point opportunity at 20-19. B Sai Praneeth, a former world 10, then scored three back-to-back points to enter the quarters.

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Meanwhile, Odisha Open champion Kiran George crashed out of the tournament. He lost 22-20, 15-21, 20-22 to third seed Lee Chuk Yu of Hong Kong in men's singles. While Ashmita Chaliha lost 21-19, 13-21, 27-29 to Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt in the last-16 match. After that, her journey in the tournament has ended.

While in mixed doubles, Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto lost 19-21 16-21 to the Indonesian pair of Akbar Bintang Cahyono and Marsheilla Gischa Islami. Rohan Kapoor-N Sikki Reddy also could not cross the second-round hurdle.