Third seed Sai Praneeth takes on fourth-seeded Indonesian teenager Jonathan Christie in the Men's singles final of 2017 Thailand Open on Sunday.
Praneeth strolled past Thailand's Pannawit Thongnuam 21-11, 21-15 in straight games in the semi-final on Saturday. Christie, on the other hand, decimated Marc Zwiebler-slayer Joo Ven Soong of Malaysia 21-9, 21-18 in just 34 minutes to reach his maiden Grand Prix Gold final.
Praneeth, the world number 24, is eyeing his maiden Grand Prix Gold title. However, the 24-year-old won a Superseries title in April when he defeated compatriot Kidambi Srikanth in the final of Singapore Open. He started the season on a high, finishing as runner-up at Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold but suffered early exits at India and Malaysia Open.
However, the Singapore Open win has given the Praneeth a lot of confidence and he has successfully carried his form into the ongoing tournament. The Indian shuttler has not lost a game yet in the ongoing tournament and has dispatched off the likes of Iskandar Zulkarnain, Kantaphon Wangcharoen enroute the title match.
Christie, on the other hand, is living up to is tag of future star with some fine performances in the ongoing season. The 19-year-old reached the quarter-final of Malaysia Open, beating the likes of Anthony Ginting and Chou Tien Chen, but fell to Lin Dan only after taking the match to the decider.
In Singapore, Christie stunned world number two Son Wan Ho in R16 before suffering a shock defeat to Lee Dong Keun. The world number 27 will be hoping to continue his good run with a maiden Grand Prix Gold title today.
Despite starting the tie as favourite, Praneeth, who will reach a career-high ranking of 17 if he wins today, should be wary of the in-form Indonesian teenager.
TV Schedule
India: Star Sports
Singapore: Hub Sports
Malaysia: Astro Supersport
China: CCTV-5
