Sai Praneeth loses in the semifinals of the US Open Grand Prix Gold

Sai Praneeth bowed out in the semifinals of the US Open

It, unfortunately, didn't prove to be the fairytale story for India’s Sai Praneeth and Indian badminton fans on Saturday as he lost 21-9 21-17 to former World No.1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in the semifinals of the US Open Grand Prix Gold.

Game 1 proved to be a completely one-sided as it seemed like the nerves had got the better of the Indian slightly and the Malaysian took full advantage of the stutter, racing away to a 4-0 early lead and then maintaining that lead throughout to win the game 21-9.

The second game saw both players win one out of the first 2 points before Lee won an astonishing 8 points on the trot to go 10-2 up, but impressively, Sai refused to back down and came roaring back to win 7 points straight to make it 10-9. Both players then exchange leads but just when it seemed like the Indian was getting some sort of grip over proceedings, the Malaysian once again won 5 points at a stretch to go from being 14-10 up to 19-10 up and that pretty much sealed it for the Indian and eventually went down 21-17 to bow out of the competition.’

Final Scoreline- Lee Chong Wei(MAL) beat Sai Praneeth(IND) 21-9 21-17