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With a prized World Championships bronze medal in his kitty, India's B. Sai Praneeth will look to make a mark when he sets foot on the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. The World No. 15 qualified for his maiden Olympic Games by dint of his ranking and will be keen to draw inspiration from his breakthrough 2019 season.
A perennial underachiever, Sai Praneeth's fitness issues have always robbed him of a chance to be a consistent name in the top tier of the sport. But this time, with an extended period of training due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 28-year-old has got a lot of time to work on his strength training.
Buoyed by the extra few hours at the gym, the Pullela Gopichand protégé will be raring to go in Tokyo. On that note, let's take a look at Sai Praneeth's projected path to the final.
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Sai Praneeth in group stages
Seeded 13th, Sai Praneeth has been placed in Group D alongside World No. 29 Mark Caljouw of the Netherlands and the 47th-ranked Misha Zilberman of Israel. Sai will open his Tokyo Olympics campaign against Zilberman on July 24 with his match against Caljouw scheduled for July 28.
Momota looms for Sai Praneeth in the quarters
Assuming Sai Praneeth tops his group and progresses to the knockouts, he will need to be at his flawless best. The Indian has a high chance of running into the ninth-ranked NG Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong in the Round of 16.
Angus has a 3-1 lead in their head-to-head record and has won their last couple of meetings. It will need a mighty effort from Sai Praneeth to send Angus packing, on managing which he can't afford to relax. In the quarterfinals, the Indian will have the uphill task of toppling the World No. 1 Kento Momota.
The Japanese has a 5-2 edge over Sai in their head-to-head record and has won their last five showdowns. In fact, the World No. 15 managed to take only one game off the irrepressible Momota in those matches. It goes without saying that anything short of 100% won't be enough to deal with a player of Momota's stature. With the Japanese seeking his first-ever Olympic medal and that too at home, it won't be easy to put him away.
If Sai Praneeth indeed manages to achieve the unthinkable and show Momota the door, then he should find himself up against Viktor Axelsen or Shi Yuqi in the semis. Axelsen is currently World No. 2 and has a bronze medal from Rio on his illustrious resume. The Dane has never lost to Sai in four meetings.
World No. 11 Shi Yuqi of China too has an impeccable 4-0 record against Sai although each of those matches went the distance. Sai will need to look back on his World Championships medal-winning performance and replicate that effort to take down so many top shuttlers and advance to the final against Anders Antonsen or Chou Tien Chen.
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